Cartel gunmen kill own boss after mistaking him for rival

A Mexican cartel boss was reportedly killed by his own men after they mistook him for a rival gang member during a wild shootout at a hospital — and one of the blundering hitmen then turned the gun on himself after realizing his error.

The gun battle broke out at a private hospital in Culiacán, Mexico, on September 28 and left four people dead — among them a secretive Sinaloa Cartel chief known as El 22.

El 22 was said to have been in charge of the criminal organization’s illicit operations in Guamúchil, Sinaloa, on behalf of jailed drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s sons, known collectively as “El Chapitos.”

The cartel honcho arrived at the Culiacán Hospital Clinic last Thursday night to pay for the surgery of a fellow Sinaloa Cartel member, Omar Silvano, who had been wounded in a shooting in the town of Badiraguato three days earlier, according to the Spanish-language El Blog del Narco.

But cartel foot soldiers who were guarding Silvano at the hospital reportedly mistook El 22 for an assassin coming to execute their injured comrade — and opened fire on him, according to the Daily Star.

Harrowing surveillance video from inside the hospital showed armed men running through the hallways with guns drawn and a person’s lifeless body lying on the floor.

One of the hapless gunslingers who allegedly shot their boss dead required medical attention after attempting to commit suicide. It was not immediately clear if he survived.

The gunfight inside the clinic left four people dead, among them three alleged cartel members and Dr. Otneil Montoya, who was caught in the crossfire.

The medic was a married father of two young daughters, one of them an infant.

Silvano, the wounded gangster, who was undergoing treatment at the hospital, was killed with a gunshot to the abdomen after allegedly trying to take a police officer’s gun as he was being transferred to Culiacán General Hospital’s emergency room.

The shooting also injured a woman, who required medical attention after a bullet struck her in the hand.

Videos later shared online showed that the sons of “El Chapo” had sent wreaths to El 22’s funeral.