Woman and children killed in bus massacre

Six children and mothers were among at least 28 people killed on a bus by gunmen claiming to be members of a Honduran revolutionary group opposed to the death penalty.

Police arrested a suspect who was driving a car similar to that identified by witnesses as having been present at the attack in Chamelecon, 125 miles north of the capital, Tegucigalpa.

He is an alleged member of violent gangs that have terrorised residents, mostly in the poor neighbourhoods of the Central American nation’s major towns.

The suspect was carrying a .38-calibre pistol and several automatic weapons, said police spokesman, Deputy Commissioner Wilmer Torres.

“It was an unbelievable massacre,” he said.

The gunmen left a large piece of paper taped to the bus windscreen with a message saying they represented a revolutionary group that opposes the death penalty.

The message contained “vulgar words” against President Ricardo Maduro, congressional President Porfirio Lobo Sosa and Security Minister Oscar Alvarez, Torres said.

The note warned that “people should take advantage of this Christmas, because the next one will be worse,” Torres said.