Tragic shooting in Mexico: Three of four family members killed, one critically injured

Three of the four family members were killed, and one was critically injured in a shooting in Durango, Mexico, last week. Of the four shot, three were Americans and one was a local resident.

The incident

The victims were traveling in a GMC Yukon with an Illinois license plate when the attack occurred last week in Durango. Their bodies were found on December 27 in the SUV on the Francisco Zarco highway in Santiago Papasquiaro, according to Fox News.

Two of the deceased were US citizens, identified as brothers Vicente Peña Rodríguez, 38, and Antonio Fernández Rodríguez, 44, both from Chicago. The third victim, a local resident and relative of the other victims, was identified as Jorge Eduardo Vargas Aguirre, 22. The survivor, a minor and son of Vicente Peña Rodríguez, is in a coma, according to the Durango attorney general’s office.

The state department confirmed to Fox News Digital that two US citizens were killed and a minor was injured in Santiago Papasquiaro, Durango.

Mexican authorities are investigating a possible robbery motive.



Attack before survivor's 14th birthday

Vicente Peña Rodríguez was in Mexico on vacation with his teenage son. A SpotFund fundraiser set up by the teenager's mother says that he "traveled to Durango, Mexico with his father, brother, and uncle to visit family and celebrate his 14th [birthday]."

"[Two] days before my baby’s birthday, they were victims of an attack… my son’s father, uncle, and a cousin were shot to death, and my son was the only survivor, also shot in the head [isc]," the teenager's mother wrote on the SpotFund page. "He is in critical condition in ICU and on life support."

The boy's mother is raising funds for his medical care and to bring him back to the United States.

Travel advisory issued

The state department has issued a Level 2 travel advisory for Mexico, urging tourists to exercise increased caution when traveling to the United States' southern neighbor. The advisory notes, "[v]iolent crime – such as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery – is widespread and common in Mexico."

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