Violence erupted in a northwest Mexican city Thursday after a son of convicted drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was briefly detained there.

Chaotic scenes in Culiacan, Sinaloa, flooded social media yesterday as organized crime members shutdown major streets and brandished high-powered weapons. That came after Ovidio Guzman Lopez — who is wanted in the U.S. on drug trafficking charges — was detained by federal forces. Security officials eventually decided to release Guzman, fearing greater bloodshed.

“The capture of a criminal can’t be worth more than the lives of people,” said President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, defending the decision.

The president later said there was a provisional order for Guzman’s arrest, for the purpose of extradition.