A 17-year-old boy has been identified as the gunman responsible for the killing of Carlos Manzo, the mayor of Uruapan in Mexico’s Michoacán state, during a public event over the weekend, state prosecutors confirmed on Thursday.

Forensic tests established that the teenager, Víctor Manuel Ubaldo, who was shot dead by security forces as they tried to repel the attack, carried out the assassination. His family formally identified his body on Wednesday.

The Michoacán state prosecutor’s office said others were involved in the incident.

“It is important to reiterate that the forensic examinations performed on Víctor Manuel’s body, particularly the sodium rhodizonate test, returned positive results, confirming his direct involvement,” prosecutor Carlos Torres told reporters, adding that the murder was likely connected to organised criminal groups.

Torres also said that tests indicated the teenager was a frequent user of methamphetamine and that his relatives reported he had left home about a week before the shooting.

Experts told Reuters that criminal organisations in Mexico are increasingly recruiting and training minors often from violent or neglected backgrounds to carry out attacks and other crimes.

A government report released last year on cartel recruitment revealed that children as young as six have been drawn into organised crime, with drug traffickers using video games and social media as tools to lure them.

Human rights groups estimate that as many as 200,000 vulnerable children in Mexico could be at risk of exploitation by criminal networks.

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