Two Canadians were killed Friday and another was wounded in a shooting at a hotel along Mexico’s Caribbean coast, state authorities said.
Quintana Roo state security chief Lucio Hernandez said via Twitter that authorities were searching for a Hotel Xcaret guest in the shooting. He shared a photo of a man walking with a handgun.
The Xcaret resort is south of Playa del Carmen.
Authorities said all three victims were taken to a hospital, but two died.
Two Canadian tourists are dead and another is wounded after a shooting at a resort along Mexico’s Caribbean coast. 2:21
The Quintana Roo state prosecutor’s office said via Twitter that the suspect in the shooting was also apparently a guest and that Canadian police had informed them he was a known felon with a long record related to robbery, drug and weapons offences. The office said both of the slain victims also had criminal records.
In a statement, Global Affairs Canada said the federal government is aware of reports that Canadian citizens had been affected by “an incident in Mexico,” and that consular officials are contacting local authorities to find out more.
It is just the latest brazen act of violence along Mexico’s famed Mayan Riviera, the crown jewel of its tourism industry.
In November, a shootout on the beach of Puerto Morelos left two suspected drug dealers dead. Authorities said there were some 15 gunmen from a gang that apparently disputed control of drug sales there.
In late October, further south in the laid-back destination of Tulum, two tourists — one a California travel blogger born in India and the other German — were caught in the apparent crossfire of rival drug dealers and killed.
Following those events, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador sent nearly 1,500 members of the National Guard to reinforce security in the area.
