PIEDRAS NEGRAS, Coahuila – Authorities are investigating the reason why two gunmen in an SUV pulled up to their victim and shot him in the face with an AK-47. The victim remains in serious condition.

The shooting took place this week in the Acoro Dos neighborhood when 20-year-old Oscar Manuel de Jesus was walking to his home from a nearby convenience store, information provided to Breitbart News by law enforcement officials revealed. Two men in a gray SUV pulled up to him and fired at least one shot at the victim, leaving him in a pool of blood before fleeing the scene.

Neighbors called for help, leading to a large-scale response from police and military forces who tried to locate the gunmen. Paramedics rushed the 20-year-old victim to a local Red Cross hospital.

Several blocks away from the scene, authorities found the abandoned gray SUV, but the gunmen managed to escape. While processing the vehicle, investigators found an AK-47. It is believed to be the same rifle from the crime scene.

The attempted murder follows various high-profile incidents in Piedras Negras, including when cartel gunmen from the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas left severed heads with threats against state authorities and their informants, Breitbart News reported.

Editor’s Note: Breitbart News traveled to the Mexican States of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities.  The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by “J.M. Martinez” from Coahuila.