Local politicians in Mexico are frequently victims of political and organised crime violence.
The mayor of the Uruapan municipality, Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez, was gunned down on Saturday night in the town's historic centre. He was rushed to a hospital, where he later died.
A city council member and a bodyguard were also injured in the attack.
The gunman, who shot him seven times, was killed at the scene, Federal Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch told journalists Sunday.
The weapon was linked to two armed clashes between rival criminal groups operating in the region, he added.
"No line of investigation is being ruled out to clarify this cowardly act that took the life of the mayor," García Harfuch said.
Michoacan is one of Mexico's most violent states and is a battleground among various cartels and criminal groups fighting for control of territory, drug distribution routes and other illicit activities.
On Sunday, hundreds of Uruapan residents, dressed in black and holding up photographs of Manzo Rodríguez, took to the town's streets to accompany the funeral procession and bid farewell to the slain mayor.
They chanted "Justice! Justice! Out with Morena!," a reference to the ruling party of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
In recent months, the Uruapan mayor had publicly appealed to Sheinbaum on social media for help to confront the cartels and criminal groups. He had accused Michoacan's pro-government governor, Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla, and the state police of corruption.
At the head of the procession, a man led Manzo Rodríguez's black horse, with one of the mayor's signature hats placed on the saddle. A group of musicians, also dressed in black, followed and played mariachi songs.
Manzo Rodríguez had been under protection since December 2024, three months after taking office.
His security was reinforced in May with municipal police and 14 National Guard officers.
The mayor's killing follows the death of Salvador Bastidas, mayor of the municipality of Tacambaro, also in Michoacan. Bastidas was killed in June along with his bodyguard as he arrived at his home in the town's Centro neighbourhood.
In October 2024, journalist Mauricio Cruz Solís was also shot in Uruapan shortly after interviewing Manzo Rodríguez.
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