Gunmen kill seven, including a child, at a family resort in central Mexico
- On Saturday afternoon, a group of gunmen stormed a local resort in central Mexico, killing seven people, including a child
- The local security department has not yet identified who was behind the attack
- Violence in the region has increased in recent years as drug cartels fight for control of Guanajuato state
At least seven people were killed, including a child, after gunmen stormed a resort pool in Mexico before the attackers fled with the surveillance cameras.
The local security department said it was not clear who was behind the attack, which killed seven and seriously injured one other. They haven’t identified a motive yet.
In recent years, however, rival drug cartels have fought brutal battles to control territories and trade routes through the central state.
La Palma Resort is located in the small town of Cortazar, about 40 miles south of the city of Guanajuato.
It is unclear whether the victims were Mexican or tourists.
The video showed the aftermath of the attack in the afternoon, which killed seven people
A map highlighting the six of 32 Mexican states that the U.S. State Department currently has listed under its strictest travel-prohibited category due to local cartels that could rob and/or kidnap American tourists
Unconfirmed video taken shortly after the attack showed shocked adults and children walking past bodies near a swimming pool.
An unidentified man said that “heavily armed sicarios arrive and this is what happened,” using the word for assassin.
In a statement, Cortazar’s security department said: “After the attack, (the attackers) fled, but not before damaging the resort’s store and taking the surveillance cameras and monitor with them.”
The afternoon shooting claimed the lives of three men, three women and a child.
The suspects reportedly opened fire indiscriminately at around 4:30 p.m. before searching the resort’s shop.
Mexican officials used a helicopter to search for the attackers, who fled the scene.
Scenes from the resort of La Palma, where local officials are looking for suspects after an attack on Saturday afternoon
In recent years, rival drug cartels have fought brutal battles to control territories and trade routes through the central state
Filming took place while visitors sat by the pool on a sunny weekend afternoon
Guanajuato is a Mexican state listed under the U.S. Department of State’s second highest alert level. The company is advising US citizens to “reconsider” traveling to the state due to “crime and kidnapping.”
Of Mexico’s 32 states, only two are currently listed under the State Department’s lowest-level designation of “normal precautions” — Campeche and Yucatan.
Quintana Roo, the popular tourist state that includes vacation hotspots like Tulum, Playa Del Carmen and Cancun, currently has a Level Two “Exercise Caution” alert.
Guanajuato is an agricultural and industrial hub, but has become one of Mexico’s most violent states in recent years.
The Jalisco New Generation drug cartel — Jalisco flanks Guanajuato to the west — has been fighting local criminal gangs for years, including the Santa Rosa de Lima cartel, which is reportedly backed by the Sinaloa cartel.