Members of the Mexican National Guard posted at the perimeter of the Teotihuacán pyramids on the outskirts of Mexico City, where a gunman killed a Canadian woman and wounded several others on Monday.Luis Cortes/Reuters
Mexican authorities say a gunman who killed a Canadian woman and injured 13 people, including another Canadian, at a popular historic tourist site planned the attack.
Officials who spoke with the Associated Press identified the gunman as 27-year-old Julio César Jasso of Mexico and said he may have timed the Monday attack to coincide with the 27th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting.
They said the gunman died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after opening fire at the UNESCO World Heritage site, about 50 kilometres northeast of Mexico City. Last year, more than 1.8 million people visited the Teotihuacán pyramids, a series of massive stone structures built by three different ancient civilizations.
Gunman kills Canadian tourist, injures 13 others at Mexico’s Teotihuacán pyramids
Mexican authorities haven’t publicly identified the deceased Canadian woman, but the injured Canadian has been identified as 29-year-old Delicia Li de Yong.
Twelve other people, ranging in ages from six to 61, were injured and taken to the hospital. They are in stable condition, Mexico’s security cabinet said.
Mexico beefed up security at multiple tourist sites on Tuesday, with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum saying the attack showed the country’s urgent need to strengthen its security protocols.
The shooting comes just two months after cartel violence in Puerto Vallarta on the country’s west coast, forcing thousands of tourists to take shelter in their hotels. Mexican authorities have not linked Monday’s attack to cartel violence.
On June 11, Mexico is set to start hosting 13 matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The country’s security secretary, Omar García Harfuch, said there will be a heightened presence of ground forces and digital “cyber patrols” at major tourist sites ahead of the tournament.
Mexican officials said the attack was not spontaneous, and the gunman had been staying in a hotel nearby.
Prime Minister Mark Carney offered condolences to the family of a Canadian who was killed in a mass shooting at a Mexican tourist site. He thanked Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum for her personal attention to the matter, after Sheinbaum promised a swift investigation into the shooting which killed 13. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said she spoke to her counterpart in Mexico and expects the Mexican investigation to shed light on how the tragedy happened.
The Canadian Press
The gunman randomly fired from atop one of the pyramids while ranting about hating tourists and playing strange music. Dozens of visitors jumped from the pyramid, ran for their lives and ducked for cover.
The gunman carried a backpack containing books and materials related to “violent incidents known to have occurred in the United States in April, 1999,” said José Luis Cervantes Martínez, the attorney-general of the state of Mexico, which includes Teotihuacán. The stated “violent incidents” are an apparent reference to the April 20, 1999, Columbine shooting, in which two teenaged gunmen killed 12 students and one teacher before dying from self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Both shootings started at about 11:30 a.m. local time.
The Columbine shooting has been a stated catalyst for a slew of copycat attacks. A 2019 Mother Jones investigation found the massacre inspired at least 100 plots or attacks, with at least 18 copycats targeting the anniversary of the shooting.
On Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters in Ottawa that the shooting was a “terrible circumstance.”
“Our hearts go out to the family and friends of the individual who was tragically killed,” Mr. Carney said. “I very much appreciate President Sheinbaum’s personal attention to the matter, and we’re working with Mexican authorities on the situation, but it’s a sad day.”
Carolina Adrian, a Canadian citizen from Montreal who was at the pyramids, said the site erupted into chaos when the shooter opened fire on the people below.
“At first I thought it was fireworks, until I saw everyone running on top of the pyramid, and people throwing themselves down the side of the stairs.” Ms. Adrian said, adding that shots sporadically thundered through the site for 20 minutes, and people stuck on the pyramid when the gunman opened fire were forced to lie down to take cover.
Brenda Lee, a tourist from Vancouver who spoke to The Globe and Mail from her Mexican hotel room, also mistook the gunshots for fireworks. She was at the bottom of the pyramid when more than a dozen shots rang out. “We all ran for it. We saw people flying off the steps trying to run down,” Ms. Lee said. “There’s no time to think. You just go.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand told reporters that her Mexican counterpart is investigating the attack, and Canadian officials are in Mexico assisting the remaining victims and Canadian foreign nationals in the country.
“I will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that Canadians are supported abroad and that this investigation uncovers facts relating to the death, the murder, of a Canadian citizen on Mexican soil,” Ms. Anand said.
When asked if the shooting changes Canada’s travel advice on Mexico, Ms. Anand said Canada is “examining all issues relating to the bilateral relationship,” but is currently focused on the families affected by the attack.
Ms. Sheinbaum wrote on X that her government is in contact with the Canadian embassy and she’s instructed the Mexican Security Cabinet to investigate the shooting and provide support.
“What happened today in Teotihuacán deeply pains us,” Ms. Sheinbaum wrote in the post on Monday. “I express my most sincere solidarity with the affected individuals and their families.”