A California couple was shot and killed while vacationing in Mexico, authorities confirmed.
The couple, identified by the Michoacan state prosecutor’s office as Gloria A., 50, and Rafael C., 53, were shot to death in the western state of Michoacan just before midnight on Wednesday.
The couple was traveling in a pickup truck in Angamakotero municipality when they were shot. woman He died at the sceneAccording to Reuters, the man died in hospital a short time later.
It was not immediately clear why the couple was specifically targeted or whether they had been targeted.
Prosecutors told Reuters that the woman, who has naturalized US citizenship, and the man, who was born in the United States to Mexican parents, have family and a home in Angamacotero.
Magdalena Guzman, a press officer at the Michoacan prosecutor’s office, told the New York Times that the couple arrived in Mexico late last month. Spending holidays with family.
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According to the outlet, authorities learned of the attack after security officers found their car riddled with bullets on a street in Angamakotero.
The prosecutor’s office said the couple’s license plate was registered without a number in the Lázaro Cárdenas neighborhood. Investigators were collecting ballistic evidence from the scene for analysis.
The killing is a step backwards in the Mexican government’s pledge to curb organized crime in several areas.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office in October, has promised to repeat the success she achieved at the national level as mayor of Mexico City in reducing the homicide rate in the sprawling capital.
But her first two months in office were marked by outbreaks of gang violence in several hotspots.
The Canadian government advises tourists to avoid non-essential travel to several states in Mexico – including Michoacán – due to high levels of violence and organized crime.
— With files from Reuters
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