3 Cops Cut Down in Mexico City Airport

Terrified travelers dove for cover yesterday as three federal police officers were fatally shot in the middle of a food hall at Mexico City's busy international airport by men wearing police uniforms, witnesses report. Two officers were shot dead at the scene, and the third died later of his injuries. They were attempting to detain suspects in a drug case, officials told the BBC. "Some policemen came in and started shooting at another policeman who was on the floor," said a witness. "We dove to the floor and covered ourselves with chairs. It took us a while to believe that they were actually gunshots."

Investigators believe the shooters are actual federal officers working for drug traffickers, and part of an airport network of crooks that includes several local and federal officials, reports the AP. The killers have been identified on airport surveillance cameras, but are still on the lam. The airport is a key hub of drug trafficking operations in Mexico, but the killings were the first major outbreak of violence there. (More drugs stories.)