Odishatv Bureau
Acapulco: Shootings in Mexico`s Pacific coast resort of Acapulco left two police officers and three suspected drug cartel gunmen dead, police said.

The confrontations began when gunmen traveling in a convoy of eight vehicles opened fire on an Acapulco municipal police patrol car on Sunday, killing two officers.

Federal officers responding to the reports of gunfire later located the convoy; in the ensuing gunfight, three suspects were killed.

Police in Guerrero state, where Acapulco is located, said in statement said that the three dead assailants were found with assault rifles, military-style uniforms and bulletproof vests.

Yesterday, Ramon Almonte, the Guerrero state police chief, said he will ask the federal congress to make it easier for common citizens to get permits for weapons to defend themselves.

Almonte`s brother was killed on January 1 in a rural town in Guerrero by unidentified gunmen. The state has been plagued by such executions.

"When you fight someone and at least you have a `piece,` the person who is attacking you might think twice," Almonte said. "We cannot go on the way we are."

At present, Mexico`s constitution allows citizens to have one or two low-caliber guns in their homes, but they must get a permit from the Defense Department and the process is complicated. Almonte did not give specifics on how he would make it easier.

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