Gunmen killed at least three police officers and several civilians in an assault Sunday night on a small town in Guyana, authorities and local media said, in the second such attack in recent weeks.

Police said the men, dressed in military fatigues and armed with assault rifles, invaded a police station and made off with ammunitions and weapons in the southwestern township of Bartica.

Police did not identify any suspects or possible motive, but this impoverished South American country has been beset by gang violence.

Alleged criminal gang leader Rondell Rawlins claimed responsibility for a Jan. 26 assault on another small town that left 11 people dead, including five children. He accused police of holding his pregnant girlfriend and threatened more attacks if she was not returned. Police deny holding the woman and say they are searching for her.

Three officers were killed in Sunday’s attack, police commander Gavin Primo said. State television NCN Channel 11 reported that as many as five officers and seven civilians were killed, and that six more civilians were wounded, several seriously.

“They broke into the strong box and took away guns and ammunition and killed three of my men,” Primo said as he and heavily armed police and soldiers prepared to fly to Bartica, a jungle community that is the gateway to the Guyana’s western gold and diamond fields.

Bartica residents reported that some businesses were also attacked, including the main hotel.

“This is just terrible, just awful,” said hotelier Stephen Bell, who lives a block away from the Bartica police station. “Not a man is on the street, the area is deserted.”

Guyana, an English-speaking country of 730,000 people, has struggled with violent crime fueled by drugs and gun trafficking. Drug trafficking accounts for an estimated 20 percent of Guyana’s gross domestic product, according to the U.S. State Department.

Authorities say Rawlins has been the leader of a gang associated with armed robberies since 2002. He is suspected of involvement in the April 2006 killing of Agriculture Minister Satyadeo Sawh.

Security forces have offered a $250,000 reward for information leading to Rawlins’ capture.

The Lusignan massacre sparked protests by villagers over Guyana’s failure to prevent gang violence. Police and soldiers have since arrested or killed people they alleged belong to Rawlins’ gang. No charges have been filed, however.