Canadian Guests Killed After Gunfire Erupts at Ritzy Playa del Carmen Resort
A shooting at a ritzy resort near Cancun left two Canadians dead and one other injured Friday, Mexican authorities said.
The gunman remains at large. The shooting is the latest in a spate of horrific violence in the vacation hotspot.
A man wielding a gun was caught on CCTV at the five-star Xcaret Hotel, located at popular Playa del Carmen, in a gray sweatsuit by the pool. Lucio Hernández Gutiérrez, the Public Secretary of Defense for the state of Quintana Roo, said gunfire broke out after a group of Canadian guests got into an argument. The guests and the gunman have not been identified.
After authorities swarmed the compound, the three victims were transported to the hospital. One died in the ambulance, the other in the hospital, according to Quintana Roo prosecutor Óscar Montes de Oca. Hernández Gutiérrez called for any information available on the shooter, who has not been captured.
The shooting appears to have taken place in a poolside dining area, according to graphic video apparently posted from the scene.
“He’s still breathing, he’s still breathing!” two women with North American accents can be heard saying in the background. Three people can be seen lying on the ground among overturned chairs and guests in their swimming trunks.
Guests recorded eerie videos of the deserted resort around the time of the shooting. In one, a band could be heard still playing a drumbeat in the distance.
currently at #xcarethotel, you can hear the band eerily playing. does anybody know what is going on? pic.twitter.com/98pvalh9Mb
— elizabeth (lizzie) (@nycenycebebe) January 21, 2022
A string of violent attacks have plagued Cancun tourist destinations in recent months. In early November, four American tourists were injured in a cartel shooting at a Cancun resort. The next month, gunmen on jet-skis sent Cancun beachgoers fleeing for their lives after opening fire. Around the same time, an American tourist was found “beaten to a bloody pulp” in her hotel room.
Este es el huésped que disparó ocasionando las lesiones que posteriormente provocaran la muerte a uno de ellos, las autoridades del grupo de coordinacion despliegan fuerte operativo para su captura, cualquier información para pronta detención estaremos profundamente agradecidos. pic.twitter.com/PRDC0hhBBe
— Lucio Hernández Gutiérrez (@Lucio_HG) January 21, 2022
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