Mexican beauty queen Susana Flores María Gámez, winner of Mujer Sinaloa 2012 contest, her boyfriend and three other people were killed over the weekend in a confrontation that involved military and a group of armed men.
The killings took place in the small town of Caitime, in Sinaloa.
The State Ministerial Police confirmed Monday that the 22-year-old was with the alleged attackers Saturday night, who confronted the soldiers in a safe house.
Flores was elected Mujer Sinaloa in February 2012, and in 2009 was named Model of the Year. Selected Miss Oriental Tourism México, in May she represented the country at the Miss Oriental Tourism International, held in China.
In addition to Flores and her boyfriend, the scuffle took the life of two of the soldiers and one more civilian.
According to information provided by the Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA) to the daily newspaper Milenio, a military convoy was patrolling Caitime streets when it was attacked by gunmen who later took refuge in a safe house.
To repel the aggression the soldiers killed one of the men, after which the attackers were able to flee the home and escape.
They were chased then to a neighboring town, where Flores was reached by a bullet.
The armed group is said to be linked with Orso Iván Gastélum, also known as El Cholo Iván or El Cholo Vago, alleged head of the Sinaloa cartel hitmen in the region of Evora.
In the safe house authorities found seven AK-47 fusion, a grenade launcher, two grenades, a .40 mm caliber rifle and a thousand rounds, and six vehicles (one armored).
Susana Flores’ killing follows the death of the former mayor of Tiquicheo, María Santos Gorrostieta, just over 10 days ago.
Gorrostieta, 36, had served from 2008 until early this year as the mayor of the small town, where several drug gangs, including La Familia Michoacana, are active.
Mexico's drug war has claimed the lives of at least 656 women through the end of October this year, out of 10,485 total deaths, according to Milenio.