Mexican authorities reported that two people died after a shootout near Cancun resorts on Thursday, forcing vacationers to shelter inside hotels, in what officials are calling a drug-related execution.
Local authorities reported that the incident started after drug dealers turned against each other on a nearby beach. The Quintana Roo state prosecutor's office posted on Twitter that members of hostile groups of drug dealers confronted each other on a beach in Bahia Petempich. The resulting shootout led to the deaths of the two victims.
Drug Turf War
The social media post noted that no other injuries were recorded while another tweet by the state secretariat of public security emphasized that no tourists were seriously injured or kidnapped due to the incident.
During interviews, several guests who were staying at the Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun hotel said they were ordered to shelter in place for fear of the drug dealers attacking the hotel. One of the people said they heard multiple gunshots while they were at the pool area before hotel staff guided them to hiding, CNN reported.
Another guest at the Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun hotel, Mike Sington, said he was shaking out of fear when the incident occurred. He added that he later barricaded himself in his hotel room for the entire night to try and relax with the thought that he was somewhat safe from the shooters.
Video footage uploaded by Sington showed guests in proximity to one another with hotel staff huddling in one corner after they were told to shelter in place. Authorities said they found evidence that suggests the shootout was related to some sort of turf war between drug dealers.
Officials said the two individuals who were killed arrived at the beach in front of the Azul Beach Resort and the Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun hotel earlier in the day and claimed it was their territory. "About 15 people arrived on the beach to assassinate two men who had showed up saying they were the new dealers in the area," said Oscar Montes de Oca, the head prosecutor of Quintana Roo state, Fox News reported.
Drug-Related Execution
Authorities said that armed suspects later escaped in a stolen motorboat after shooting and killing the two victims. The stretch of beach where the incident occurred was near various popular resorts, which threatened the safety of several tourists.
Officials reported that another individual was transported to a hospital due to non-life-threatening injuries. Shortly after, investigators analyzed the scene of the shootout to look for evidence and potential information as to who the culprits could be. They took the bodies of the victims to be examined by the Forensic Medical Service and hopefully be identified, and their relatives notified.
Jim Wildermuth, originally from Atlanta, was a tourist staying at the Hyatt Ziva Hotel in Puerto Morelos. He said that he was out at the pool at around 2:00 p.m. local time when other guests said they heard "cracks."
"We kind of looked at each other funny," said Wildermuth, who then ran up to his room along with other guests where staff told them to shelter in place. Authorities told them that there was an active shooter in the area. Shortly after, Wildermuth said he saw military personnel escorting people in front of the hotel, ABC News reported.
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