Guatemala City, Sep 22 (EFE).- At least six men and two women were shot dead with nearly 200 bullets while driving in a car in the far north of Guatemala, various sources confirmed on Sunday.

The attack took place on Saturday in the department (province) of Petén, some 500 kilometers north of Guatemala City, near the border with Mexico, according to local media.

The Public Prosecutor's Office stressed on Sunday that it is already at the scene of the attack, in the municipality of San Andrés, also in Petén, and that it has recovered at least 198 "ballistic evidence of different calibers."

The names of four people killed have been confirmed, while "four bodies have not been identified," according to the authorities, the same source said.

The identified victims are Erick Geovany Lopez Nova, Erwin Oswaldo Portillo Hernandez, Alfaro Otoniel Garcia Interiano and Marleny Tamara Arana Cardona.

Also early Saturday morning, but in the department of Quetzaltenango, some 250 kilometers west of the capital, six people were murdered in a bar in the municipality of Coatepeque.

Armed individuals entered the premises and fired at those present, killing six people, according to the Volunteer Firefighters.

Guatemala recorded a total of 4,361 murders in 2023, 2% more than in 2022, according to official data from the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (Inacif). EFE