At least two suspected gang members were killed after gunfire erupted at the Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun Resort in Mexico, local offiicals confirmed. Guests and employees were rushed into hiding by staff amid reports of a shootout.
The shooting was reported at the vicinity of a 5-star hotel on Thursday afternoon, with conflicting reports suggesting that a gunman or gunmen approached from the adjacent beach and began shooting.
The State Secretariat of Public Security in Mexico’s state of Quintana Roo said two people who are “presumed to be drug dealers” were killed but added that no tourists were seriously injured or kidnapped. The state’s attorney general later confirmed the incident was a gang shootout, saying it took place on a beach a short distance from the resort.
Mexico’s ADN40 news reported that one tourist was treated for an unspecified “minor injury” in wake of the incident.
NBCUniversal executive Mike Sington was at the hotel and described being shepherded to “a dark room deep in the hotel” to hide.
Other terrified guests described a single gunman approaching the secluded resort from the beach and opening fire amid a volleyball game. There have also been reports that the shooter or shooters were wielding “machine guns” as they descended on the resort.
All guests and employees told to duck, and we’re all taken to hiding places at Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun Resort. Active shooter? Terrorist or kidnapping threat? They’re not telling us anything. pic.twitter.com/Hf7SRzRJIZ
All guests and employees taken out of hiding now and brought to lobby. Active shooter at Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun Resort. Still no update from hotel. People are hugging each other and crying. pic.twitter.com/AqbYms3AUb
Within an hour, guests were allowed back up to the hotel’s reception.
A spokesperson for the Hyatt Ziva Riviera in Cancun, a popular tourist destination for Americans, told the Daily Beast that hotel staff “immediately engaged local authorities” who are said to be at the scene investigating.
The US Embassy in Mexico said it was looking into reports of the shooting.
A suspected gang shootout at another popular resort in Tulum, some 80 miles south of Cancun, left two foreign tourists dead and three others injured last month, after which Mexican security forces were sent to back up local authorities. It followed a string of gang-related incidents in the region, including the slaying of a police officer in the nearby town of Playa del Carmen in late October.
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