A mayor in Mexico was shot dead on Saturday while at a restaurant with his 14-year-old son, who survived the attack.

Guillermo Torres was eating in a restaurant in Morelia, the capital of western Michoacan state, with his son when they were attacked.

Torres was elected mayor of Churumuco, also in Michoacan, in 2022 with the Institutional Revolutionary Party.

He recently left the party and spoke publicly expressing sympathy with the ruling Morena party.

A huge problem

Police conducted forensic analysis at the scene of the shooting, and the investigation into the killing continues.

Torres is one of 50 people killed in election-related violence since June of last year, and 26 of those were candidates for popular seats, according to Laboratorio Electoral think tank.

Drug cartels in Mexico frequently target mayors in an attempt to extort money and favors from local police and governments.

The state has had other recent violence as well. Last month a police officer was decapitated and her two bodyguards killed in a highway attack there.

Earlier in March, three farmers were killed by a bomb days after four soldiers were killed by an improvised explosive device that authorities said was a likely a cartel "trap."

The country is highly violent, with 450,000 murders since 2006. Most of them are drug-related.

Coming across the border

The violence is now coming across the border as illegal immigration continues to be a problem. Officials like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) have said that the Mexican drug cartels control the southern border, where many women and children are sexually assaulted and others are killed or left for dead along the border.

As many as 10 million illegal immigrants, including drug cartel members, have reportedly come across the border since President Joe Biden took office in 2021, according to The Hill.

Total illegal immigrants living in the U.S. right now is up to 20 million, double what it was when Biden took office.

While most of the illegal immigrants are not criminals, some gang members and others with ill intentions are also coming across the border and committing crimes here in the U.S. as well.