A 15-year-old boy allegedly shot and killed two female staff members, one of whom was reportedly a teacher, at a private school in Mexico’s western state of Michoacan, local authorities said on Tuesday.

A student at the Makarenko School, located in the port city of Lazaro Cardenas, reportedly used a high-powered assault rifle during the attack, the local Department of Public Safety said.

In a post on X, local authorities said two victims with multiple gunshot wounds were found at the scene and that the suspect had been arrested.

Another state government source told Reuters that “the victims appear to be a teacher and another person from the administrative staff.”

The state prosecutor’s office did not specify what positions the two victims held at the school.

The alleged attacker was a high school student preparing for college.

Reuters attempted to contact the school but did not immediately receive a response to a request for comment.

Michoacan has long been one of Mexico’s most violent states and is a hotbed for extortion, kidnapping and other criminal activities. It is also a major recruiting ground for criminal groups battling over drug trafficking routes.

School shootings are rare in Mexico despite high levels of violence linked to organized crime.

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(Reporting by Lizbeth Díaz; Editing by Paul Simao)