Two senior aides to Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada were shot dead in a brazen daylight attack on Tuesday morning, in what authorities have described as a targeted assassination.

The victims, identified as Ximena Guzmán, the mayor's private secretary, and José Muñoz, a longtime adviser, were killed while on their way to work. According to eyewitness accounts and CCTV footage, Guzmán had stopped her black Audi along a busy avenue to pick up Muñoz for their daily commute when the attack occurred.

Surveillance video from a nearby building captured the chilling moment when the assailant, with a motorcycle helmet in one hand and a gun in the other, approached the vehicle on foot. The gunman fired several rounds through the windscreen before shooting both victims at close range. In a particularly brutal detail, the shooter turned back to fire additional shots at Muñoz as he collapsed on the pavement.

The attacker fled the scene reportedly with assistance from at least one accomplice on a motorcycle. Law enforcement officials have since recovered a motorbike and another vehicle believed to have been used in the escape.

Mayor Brugada, visibly emotional during a subsequent news conference, described the victims as close colleagues and friends with whom she had "shared dreams and struggles" over the years. "I will not rest until those responsible are brought to justice," she vowed.

President Claudia Sheinbaum, who was informed of the killings during her morning press conference, condemned the attack as "a deplorable incident" and offered full federal support for the investigation. Both Sheinbaum and Brugada are members of Mexico's ruling Morena party.

Security Minister Omar García Harfuch, who himself survived a cartel ambush in 2020 in Mexico City, described the killings as "calculated" and suggested they bore the hallmarks of a professional hitman. However, he did not speculate on potential motives for the attack.

While violence against local politicians is tragically common in rural areas of Mexico, attacks of this nature in the capital are relatively rare. This incident has raised fresh concerns about the reach and audacity of organised crime groups even in the heart of Mexico's political center.

Mayor Brugada, 61, who was elected in June 2024, is widely regarded as a rising figure in national politics. The murders of her aides represent one of the most serious political attacks in the capital since the 2020 ambush on García Harfuch, then the city's police chief, which was attributed to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

As of now, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Investigators are reviewing surveillance footage and analyzing evidence as they search for suspects.