PUEBLA, Mexico (AFP)— Gunmen stormed a hospital in Mexico Monday to attack a man recovering from a gunshot wound, killing him and two police officers, authorities said.

The attackers shot the man more than 10 times in the central town of Atlixco, then killed police who tried to stop them fleeing, the public security secretariat in Puebla state said.

“The victim initially entered the hospital early Sunday morning on his own, since he had been injured by a gunshot wound at a gathering,” Puebla security secretary Daniel Ivan Cruz told a news conference.

“Early Monday morning, the person was killed by several men who entered the hospital,” he said.

“After hearing the emergency call and arriving at the scene, the police came under fire and died on the spot,” he added.

Investigators were looking into whether the patient — who was around 30-years-old — was involved in illegal activities, the security secretariat said.

Atlixco, a popular tourist destination, receives thousands of visitors at this time of year for the Day of the Dead festival.

Spiralling violence, much of it linked to drug trafficking and gangs, has seen more than 450,000 people murdered in Mexico since 2006.