Mexican beauty queen shot dead in Gang shoot out

Its really sad to write that a Mexican beauty queen Maria Susana Flores Gamez was gunned down Saturday in a shootout between members of a drug cartel and military patrolmen.

According to The Associated Press, Gamez was traveling with the former group when guns were drawn. An assault rifle was discovered near her body.

"She was with the gang of criminals, but we cannot say whether she participated in the shootout," says state prosecutor Marco Antonio Higuera. "That's what we're going to have to investigate."

Gamez was a passenger in one of the vehicles that engaged soldiers in an extended chase and bullet battle on Saturday. The incident took place near her hometown of Guamuchil and two other members of the gang were killed, while four were detained following the hours-long standoff.

It's actually not uncommon for beauty pageant contestants in Mexico to get involved with drug cartels. The 2011 movie Miss Bala focused on this association and won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Gamez was voted the 2012 Woman of Sinaloa in February. She then lost a subsequent pageant that would have put her on track to compete for Mexico in Miss Universe.