Story highlights

Nine people were killed

The gunmen entered the jail pretending to be public officials

There was a shootout between the gunmen and the inmates

Five attackers and four inmates were killed

CNN  — 

At least nine people were killed in a shootout between gunmen and inmates at a jail about 120 miles southwest of Mexico City, officials said.

The gunbattle occurred inside the Tuxpan jail in the city of Iguala on Friday in the early morning hours, the Guerrero state attorney general’s office said in a news release.

Six gunmen managed to enter the jail by pretending to be public officials bringing a new inmate inside.

Once inside, the gunmen initiated a firefight with inmates and also with jail guards in the security towers, the office said.

Five of the attackers and four prisoners were killed.

The surviving attacker was hospitalized and was under police custody, the attorney general’s office said. A guard wounded in the gunfight also was in the hospital, the office said.

The gunmen had arrived at the jail in a stolen pickup, the office said.

State and local officials are investigating the incident and offered no further details.