Italian hotelier shot dead in Mexico

TUXTLA GUTIARREZ, Mexico: An Italian businessman and owner of a well-known hotel in southern Mexico was shot and killed in the town of Palenque where he lived, local authorities said.

The prosecutor’s office of the southernmost state of Chiapas said Raphael Alessandro Tunesi was shot midday on Friday as he prepared to pick up his daughters from school.

"Police officers who arrived found him inside a vehicle... with several bullet wounds," the office said.

Tunesi had been living in Chiapas for several years and was considered an expert on Mayan culture.