Footage of a gunman shooting panicked tourists atop Mexico’s historic Pyramid of the Moon has renewed concerns about security in the country as it prepares to co-host this summer’s World Cup with millions of soccer fans.
At least one Canadian woman was killed in an attack Monday in Mexico’s Teotihuacan archaeological zone, a major tourist destination 30 miles north of Mexico City. The capital is scheduled to host five soccer matches when the world championships begin in July.
Seven other foreign nationals, including two Americans, were wounded in the gunfire, and six more foreign nationals suffered various injuries during the chaos.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum insisted her country was safe for tourists and said authorities would beef up security to prevent a repeat of this type of shooting.
But the attack may have dealt a blow to the Mexican government’s claims that the country is a safe place to visit after months of widespread attacks by criminal organizations in response to the killing of a drug lord.
Here’s what we know about the attack, the gunman, and Mexico’s security response.
Mexican state security chief Cristóbal Castañeda Camarillo said authorities received first reports of the attack at around 11:20 a.m. local time, indicating an armed man was threatening civilians at the ruins.
Video from the scene showed the gunman roaming atop the Pyramid of the Moon, with a number of tourists lying on the floor next to him.
When the National Guard arrived around 11:30 a.m., the gunman opened fire on them, Castañeda-Camarillo said. The guards fired back, and the gunman sustained a leg wound and lost his life.
Mass shooting at Mexico’s Teotihuacan pyramid, tourists flee
The gunman, identified as 27-year-old Mexican Julio Cesar Jasso Ramirez, acted alone and had no ties to the criminal organizations or drug cartels that are usually behind Mexico’s most violent attacks.
Officials said the attack appeared to have been pre-arranged and that the gunman had visited the archaeological zone several times and stayed at a nearby hotel before the deadly incident.
“Based on the investigation procedures that were followed, it appears that this act was not spontaneous. The attacker planned it alone and carried out the action alone,” Jose Luis Cervantes Martínez, Mexico’s attorney general, told a news conference.
Sheinbaum said Tuesday that this type of attack is rare in Mexico. “We have never seen anything like this in Mexico before. This is the first time something like this has happened.”
She said the attacker showed signs of “mental problems” and had been influenced by incidents that had taken place overseas.
The incident also occurred on the 27th anniversary of the Columbine massacre, in which two students opened fire at a Colorado high school, killing 14 people.
Sheinbaum did not say whether he was referring to the Columbine massacre, but Cervantes Martinez noted that the attacker was carrying a backpack containing a handwritten note about the April 1999 violence in the United States.
Mexico has successfully hosted major events, most recently in March, when Shakira’s concert was attended by 400,000 people.
But those successes were overshadowed by days of violence following the February killing of Jalisco New Generation cartel leader Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguerra Cervantes.
Scheinbaum insisted at the time that there was “no risk” to soccer fans, while FIFA president Gianni Infantino said he was “completely confident” that everything would “go in the best direction”.
In light of Monday’s attack on the ruins, Mexican commentators are questioning whether Mexico can effectively guarantee the safety of tourists and locals at the upcoming World Cup.
Mexico is scheduled to host 13 games from June 11 to July 5 in three cities, including the capital, where the opening game will be held.
Authorities insisted they were prepared for the event and said they would further tighten security as a precaution. “Following the instructions of the president and in coordination with the Ministry of Culture and other authorities, security at the monuments will also be strengthened on matters related to the World Cup,” Mexico’s Security Secretary Omar García Halfchi said on Tuesday.
“We are confident that the safety of the World Cup will be guaranteed,” he added.
Sheinbaum acknowledged that the perpetrators were able to enter Teotihuacan with guns because there are no security checkpoints at archaeological sites.
“Why? Because a situation like this has never happened before,” she said of the vast archaeological area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is home to several monuments, including the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon.
“Now that a situation like this has arisen, it is natural for authorities to step up security checks to ensure that no one enters monuments and public places with firearms.”
