It appears to be like like a typical vacationer photograph, as British Columbia lady Barbara Welsh and her buddies smile close to the foot of the well-known Pyramid of the Moon on the Teotihuacan web site northeast of Mexico Metropolis on Monday.
However within the background, clambering the pyramid’s stairs, a person in a checked shirt will be seen, carrying one thing in his proper hand.
Moments later, he pulled out a gun and began capturing, sending individuals tumbling down the pyramid.
Officers have mentioned they’re working to grasp the motive of the shooter, who reportedly deliberate the assault, performed unusual music, ranted about hating vacationers and fired randomly.
“We didn’t actually know what it was,” Welsh mentioned of listening to first photographs.
“After which we heard one other one after which I regarded up and it was like a waterfall of individuals simply rolling down the Pyramid of the Moon.”
Welsh mentioned their personal information screamed on the group of seven B.C. ladies to run as quickly because the gunfire sounded, and so they took off towards the car parking zone.
Inside 5 minutes, she mentioned the group had boarded the tour van and the motive force was fleeing the location. They might nonetheless hear the capturing from the van.
“We may nonetheless hear the photographs as we have been getting out of there. They went on for like over 20 minutes,” she mentioned.
Officers have confirmed a Canadian lady was killed and at the least 13 different guests have been harm within the assault.
The injured have been in secure situation, officers mentioned.
The Safety Cupboard of Mexico recognized the one Canadian taken to hospital as 29-year-old Delicia Li de Yong. It mentioned the opposite injured individuals have been from the US, Russia, the Netherlands and Brazil. The youngest was a six-year-old boy from Colombia.
The id of the Canadian lady who was killed has not but been disclosed.
Authorities recognized the attacker as 27-year-old Julio Cesar Jasso Ramirez, a local of Guerrero, Mexico, who they mentioned arrived in Teotihuacan a day earlier in an Uber and stayed in a lodge.
Then on Monday shortly earlier than midday, whereas atop the Pyramid of the Moon, he started firing at vacationers with an previous revolver whereas holding a plastic bag containing 52 .38-calibre cartridges in his different hand, mentioned Jose Luis Cervantes Martinez, the legal professional normal of the state of Mexico, which incorporates Teotihuacan.
The assailant, who acted alone, shot and killed himself, authorities mentioned, and safety officers discovered a gun, a knife and ammunition on the scene.
Welsh mentioned her group was about midway by way of their guided tour of the location when the capturing started.
She mentioned she and considered one of her buddies had climbed down the pyramid minutes earlier than the photograph was taken to rejoin the group, saying the altitude bothered them.
She mentioned that call to show again might have saved their lives as a result of quarter-hour later, the assault started.
“It was simply luck — whole luck — that my girlfriend and I weren’t on the high of the pyramid on the time,” Welsh mentioned.
“We have been simply in shock largely,” Welsh mentioned as she mirrored on the tragedy. “It was simply horrible but it surely may have been worse.”
Although they’re shaken up, Welsh mentioned the expertise doesn’t taint her view of Mexico Metropolis and gained’t deter the group, who normally plan a visit collectively yearly, from travelling once more.
“You’ll be able to’t anticipate one thing like this,” she mentioned.
“It might probably occur anyplace. I actually hope that this doesn’t have an effect on Mexico Metropolis for positive, as a result of it’s a beautiful place.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed April 22, 2026.
— With recordsdata from The Related Press
Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press
