A recently elected mayor is shot and killed in southern Mexico

MEXICO CITY -- A recently elected mayor was shot and killed on Monday in southern Mexico, in the state of Guerrero, local authorities said.

Salvador Villalva Flores was on a bus when was he was fatally shot in the head in the town of San Pedro las Playas, according to the Guerrero state prosecutor’s office. That beach town is nearly two hours up the coast from Copala, where Villalva was elected mayor on June 2.

No additional details on the shooting were provided. Guerrero is home to a number of criminal organizations vying for control of territory.

At least 34 political candidates have been killed across Mexico in the run-up to and aftermath of the June 2 election, according to the human rights organization Data Civica.