19 killed in attack on Mexico drug clinic

Gunmen stormed a private drug and alcohol treatment clinic in northern Mexico and opened fire, killing 19 people and wounding four, authorities said Friday. Dozens of armed men arrived in a convoy outside the church-run facility Fe y Vida, or Faith and Life, about 11 p.m. Thursday. Rene Castillo, the center's pastor, said the men, outfitted with protective vests and face masks, first claimed to be police officers. They fatally shot some of the victims in their rooms, but herded most outside the three-story center before executing them, Castillo said by telephone from the city of Chihuahua. Castillo said the facility housed two dozen men ages 17 to 60. Some had been gang members involved in criminal activities at one time, he said. But the pastor said the victims were trying to get their lives together. "They were looking for a way forward," he said.