Source: UPI
Two people have been killed in a daytime deadly shooting involving alleged drug gangs, leaving hotel guests and tourists in Mexico scampering for safety.
On Thursday afternoon, suspected duug dealers on a Mexican beach had a deadly shootout which sent locals and tourists taking shelter for safety.
According to state officials, two men died after a confrontation in Bahía Petempich, in Puerto Morelos, led to a gun fire.
The beach, located in Puerto Morelos, about 25 kilometres south of Cancun is a well-known tourist destination for many Americans and Canadians.
According to the guests staying at the nearby Hyatt Ziva Rivera Cancun, hotel staff handed makeshift weapons to everyone, encouraging guests to take shelter after gunshots went off in a not too far distance.
A guest said they had to defend themselves using different tools ranging from metal sticks to a pedestal bathroom sink. In a tweet sent out by the Quintana Roo state prosecutor’s office, the gun violence that erupted “was between two groups of drug dealers against each other.” The tweet further assured that no other injuries were reported.
Further exposing what transpired on the beach that led to the gunshots, the head prosecutor of Quintana Roo state, Oscar Montes de Oca said about fifteen people arrived on the beach to kill two men who showed up saying they were the new dealers in the territory.
A senior state official also reported that a group of gunmen arrived in pursuit of the men that were killed by boat. Another Mexican official said it appeared to have been a targeted “execution.”
In a series of live tweets, NBC executive Mike Sington who was at the Hyatt when the incident occured gave insights into what transpired.
“All guests and employees told to duck, and were all taken to hiding places at Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun Resort. Active shooter? Terrorist or kidnapping threat? They’re not telling us anything,” he said in a tweet, accompanied by photos and videos of guests at the hotel returning to the hotel to hide.
In follow-up tweets, Sington said guests were taken out of hiding to the lobby where they got emotional, cried, and hugged each other as reactions to what they just experienced.
Opinions expressed by NY Weekly contributors are their own.
