Two gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on a journalist's restaurant in Juchitán, in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, on Saturday, leaving bullet holes across its facade and windows. No one was injured.

The attack on the Rockaway seafood restaurant happened shortly before 7am, while the business was closed. TV Azteca reported that 12 bullets struck the facade. The owner, José Ignacio Santiago Martínez, is a reporter with more than 18 years of experience covering crime and the director of the news website Pluma Digital Noticias.

Santiago Martínez said the shooting followed his refusal to pay 50,000 pesos in a "derecho de piso" extortion demand — a protection payment demanded by criminals. He said he had filed four complaints with the state prosecutor since June, and had also reported threats less than a month ago. He has published the names of people he says are behind extortion in the area.

Prosecutor opens investigation

The Oaxaca state prosecutor's office has opened an investigation and sent staff specialising in crimes against freedom of expression to the scene. Officers collected shell casings, while the area was cordoned off by the Mexican Army, the National Guard and the Navy. No arrests have been reported.

Local journalist groups, including the Alianza de Comunicadores del Istmo, condemned the attack. Santiago Martínez has said he will not be silenced.

The shooting is the latest attack on a journalist in Oaxaca, a state where reporters covering crime and corruption face repeated threats. Authorities have not said whether the attack was retaliation for his refusal to pay the extortion demand, and that remains one line of the investigation.