MEXICO CITY, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- A shootout took place on Friday in a rural area in the state of Michoacan in western Mexico, leaving at least eight people dead and one person injured, local authorities reported.

   The Michoacan Attorney General's Office said in a report that the events occurred in a house in the Pinzanangapio neighborhood in the town of Huetamo.

   The report said that law enforcement on the scene had found signs of the use of two assault weapons and a pistol. Authorities also found two trucks and a motorcycle as well as tactical clothing in the house, which, according to local media reports, is a place often used by criminals as a safe house.

   The public security department of Michoacan said on Twitter that police officers and members of the National Guard have been deployed in the area to preserve public safety.

   The town of Huetamo makes up part of the Hot Zone, a region of Michoacan affected for the last decade by territorial disputes between rival drug trafficking groups.  Enditem