Two gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire at a supermarket owned by the in-laws of Argentina captain and Paris Saint-Germain striker Lionel Messi in Rosario, Argentina, on Thursday, according to police.
The incident occurred during the early hours of Thursday morning, leaving 14 bullet holes at a market owned by the parents of Antonela Roccuzzo, Messi’s wife, Rosario police said.
The police and Pablo Javkin, the mayor of Rosario, confirmed that gunmen had left a “handwritten note” with threats against the 35-year-old Messi.
The gunmen left a note which said: “Messi, we are waiting for you.”
The note also called mayor Pablo Javkin a narco, who will not be able to protect the star athlete.
Javkin blamed the incident on organized crime and attacked security forces for not dealing with a long-standing problem.
CNN has reached out to Messi’s representatives for comment.
Celia Cuccittini, Messi’s mother, spoke to journalist Maite Peñoñori of CNN Radio Argentina after the gun attack on the Rosario shop and offered a message of calm. “We’re fine, it happened at the supermarket of Anto’s father. We never requested private security in our city, we lead a normal life,” she explained.
The authorities added that they are reviewing surveillance videos and interviewing witnesses to determine who is responsible for the act, among other measures.
Rosario, in the province of Santa Fe, is a city that in recent years has been characterized by high levels of violence and the presence of gangs linked to drug trafficking.