Gunmen kill online reporter in Mexico border town

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) -- Gunmen shot dead an online journalist while he ate dinner at a taco stand in the border town of Ojinaga, across the border from Texas, authorities said Monday.

Assailants killed Jaime Gonzalez Dominguez Sunday afternoon in the town across the border from Presidio, Texas, said Chihuahua state prosecutors spokesman Carlos Gonzalez.

Gonzalez said authorities have yet to determine a motive in the killing and that prosecutors don't know if Gonzalez Dominguez had received threats.

Gonzalez Dominguez published a news website called Ojinaga Noticias, which covered stories ranging from local sports to education.

The website didn't carry any major reports about crime or drug trafficking on Monday, when the main story was about the killing of the 38-year-old journalist, who was shot at least 18 times with an assault rifle.

The gunmen stole Gonzalez Dominguez's camera, the story reported. It added that a woman who was with him was not wounded.

"This attack against journalism is a real shame," the article said.

The site said the story about the attack would probably be the last one it published. Minutes later the website was taken down.

The Association of Journalists of Ciudad Juarez, another border town in Chihuahua state, demanded a thorough and fast investigation.

"Chihuahua state can no longer be one of the states where practicing journalism is a high risk," the association said in a statement.

The killing comes days before the Inter-American Press Association was to meet in the central Mexican city of Puebla. The group has several times expressed concern about the risks faced by journalists in the country.

Media advocates have long called Mexico one of the most dangerous nations for reporters.

In July, a special prosecutor for crimes against reporters said 67 journalists have been killed and 14 have disappeared in Mexico since 2006.