Gun attack on Mexicans and Americans traveling in Northern Mexico wounds three
PHOTO CAPTION: Representational photo — Security forces stand guard near a crime scene in Sabinas Hidalgo, Mexico May 29, 2023. (REUTERS/Daniel Becerril)
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A group of Mexican and American citizens traveling in vehicles in northern Mexico was attacked by armed civilians on Saturday, leaving at least three Mexican passengers injured, local authorities said.
The incident occurred during the early morning hours on the Roma Bridge in the city of Miguel Aleman in Mexican border state Tamaulipas, the Mexican National Migration Institute (INM) said in a statement.
"The caravan was made up of 20 people, 16 nationals and four Americans who were traveling in two trucks," reported INM, which condemned the attack. The caravan had started its journey in the United States.
INM said that three Mexican citizens were wounded: a woman who received two gunshot wounds to the back, a 62-year-old man who was shot in the leg, and a 70-year-old man whose finger was hit by a bullet.
Among the four U.S. citizens, three from Dallas and one from Atlanta, there were two adults, ages 23 and 21, and two minors, including a 14-year-old and a 19-month-old. None of the Americans were injured, according to INM.
A U.S. government official told Reuters that at approximately 5:30 on Saturday morning, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials at the Roma Port of Entry processed seven people who had come under fire in the caravan - including American citizens, lawful U.S. permanent residents and a Mexican citizen. They arrived in Mexican ambulances and were transported to local hospitals for treatment.
Tamaulipas security authorities said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that six people were treated for "nervous breakdowns", in addition to the three people who were injured by firearms.
Tamaulipas is considered one of the most violent states in Mexico, due to the presence of criminal organizations dedicated to migrant smuggling, drug trafficking and other illicit activities.
In March, four Americans were kidnapped in that state, two of whom were killed and two released, in an incident that caused tension between the governments of the two neighbor nations.
(Reporting by Raul Cortes and Jackie Botts; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
