Six people and a child were slain by gunmen who stormed a water park in central Mexico on Saturday, causing fear among the crowd, as per local authorities.

Police "arrived at the scene where they found... three dead women, three men, and a seven-year-old minor, in addition to one person seriously wounded," said a statement from City Hall in Cortazar, the municipality where the attack took place.

Recent years have seen an increase in drug-related violence in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato and its surroundings.

The gunmen arrived at the La Palma swimming resort at 4:30 pm local time (2230 GMT) "to perpetrate the attack," as per the statement.

Attackers moved immediately in front of a crowd of people, opened fire, and then pulled out security cameras before fleeing, as per authorities. 

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The victims were shown in a video recorded at the scene and aired on the local news website Debate Noticias collapsing on the floor or on the chairs they were sitting in -- apparently from the gunshots.

The footage also shows people running for cover from the gunfire.

One of Mexico's major television networks, TV Azteca, has a video from the scene on its website, showing panic-stricken adults and children still in swimwear, including pool floats, on the scene after the shooting.

It is worth noting that the attack happened on the last day of the spring school vacation period.

Military and state police swarmed the resort, which is adjacent to a university campus, following the attack. 

Since the government sent the army to fight drug cartels in 2006, Mexico has recorded more than 350,000 murders, the majority of which have been attributed to criminal groups.

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