Javier Valdez, 50, a noted journalist and author who reported for the Mexican newspaper Rio Doce as well as French news agency Agence France-Presse, was shot dead on Monday afternoon.

He was walking near the Rio Doce offices in the state capital, Culiacan, when he was killed by a group of people riding in a red car, according to multiple Mexican news outlets.

Website sinembargo.mx reported that several bullet casings had been found at the crime scene, and that authorities had not yet issued official information about the murder.

Journalists as targets

In addition to Rio Doce, Valdez also worked as a reporter for the newspaper La Jornada. Well-known for covering the country's drug-related violence, Valdez was awarded the International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in 2011.

His death makes him the fifth reporter to be killed in Mexico in the past three months.

CPJ has urged President Enrique Pena Nieto to do more to ensure security for journalists in the country, noting that at least 21 journalists in the past decade have lost their lives.

blc/cmk (Reuters, AP)