The local authorities report that two gang members were killed in the shooting on the beach where many tourists lay on their beach beds in the afternoon local time (around 21.30 Dutch time). None of the tourists were injured.
Much was unclear for a long time. The US embassy in Mexico initially said it was investigating reports of a shooting in and around the Hyatt Hotel south of Cancun. Messages from guests were shared on Twitter, who were advised by hotel staff to stay indoors and hide in the hotel.
Reuters news agency subsequently reported – based on initial results of a police investigation – that a person had been kidnapped by a group of armed gang members in the shooting. The group would then have run off in a motorboat. Local authorities have just confirmed the deaths of two people. It’s about gang members. The kidnapping is denied, it would not have taken place.
There was certainly great panic. Hotel guests, many of whom are American nationals, shared their experiences on Twitter and other social media. They reported up to fifteen gunmen shooting onto the beach. Mike Sington writes how he was told to hide. He has no idea whether a shooting, kidnapping or attack is taking place. Videos and photos show how tourists, some still in swimwear, wait in rooms and corridors of the hotel. According to Sington, they were then led to the hotel lobby. He still has no idea what’s going on. People cry. Later, Sington reports that a hotel employee has said that a gunman has been arrested.
Someone else is tweeting calling the US embassy. His partner called that men with automatic rifles were storming the beach. The man is hiding in a hotel room and has no idea what to do. “And I don’t know what to do.”
Check out some of the tweets at the bottom of this article.
Mexico has been suffering from drug gang violence for many years. Not only police officers and politicians are the target of attacks. Increasingly, tourists are also getting caught up in the gang violence. At the end of October, two tourists were killed in the Mexican tourist hotspot Tulum, on the same coastline and in the same province (Quintana Roo) as Cancun. The victims were hit by stray bullets after a clash between rival drug gangs. A Dutch woman and two Germans were wounded.
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