MEXICO CITY (AP) — The bodies of four men and two women were found lying on the side of a street near the northern city of Monterrey early Tuesday, authorities said.

Prosecutors for the border state of Nuevo Leon said the victims appeared to have been shot and had their hands tied.

The bodies were discovered in Apodaca, a suburb of Monterrey. Local media reported the six might have been tortured before being shot in the head.

Monterrey was hit by a wave of drug cartel violence in the 2010s, but had been somewhat more peaceful in recent years.