Press "Enter" to skip to content

What we know about the attack on a group of families in Mexico

(CNN) — Nine women and children in Mexico were killed while traveling near the US-Mexico border on Monday, according to Mexico’s security minister.

Three women and six children, all with dual US-Mexican citizenship, were killed in an attack, Security Minister Alfonso Durazo said in a news conference Tuesday.

Here’s what we know so far about the attack.

What happened?

The victims were “all shot while in vehicles while driving,” family member Alex LeBaron told CNN on Tuesday. Several children survived.

Investigators believe the three vehicles, traveling between the Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua, were ambushed by criminal groups Monday, Mexican authorities said.

“Women and children (between 14 years old and 10 months) were massacred, burned alive,” LeBaron said. “Mothers were screaming for the fire to stop.”

They were driving together for safety reasons, said Kendra Lee Miller, whose sister-in-law was killed in the attack. The family was supposed to go to Miller’s wedding next week in La Mora, she said.

Seven children injured in the attack were flown from Mexico to Douglas, Arizona, for transport to Tucson hospitals, LeBaron said.

Who carried out the attack?

Mexican authorities — without giving details — said the vehicles were ambushed by criminal groups on Monday evening, though it remains unclear exactly why they were targeted.

Mexican Security Minister Alfonso Durazo said the attack could have been a case of mistaken identity of “conflicting groups in the area.”

They were allegedly attacked “separately but simultaneously by two different groups of the same cartel,” Alex LeBaron told CNN. “Most likely by accident, mistaken for their rivals.”

Who are the victims?

The victims are part of a splinter Mormon community of about 3,000 members living in Mexico.

Generally, the community practices a fundamentalist version of Mormonism, and one of the victim’s family members told CNN that some practice polygamy. Polygamy is illegal in both the United States and in Mexico.

A spokesman from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon Church, said the victims were not members.

“We are heartbroken to hear of the tragedy that has touched these families in Mexico. Though it is our understanding that they are not members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, our love, prayers and sympathies are with them as they mourn and remember their loved ones.”

The LeBaron family has been the victim of drug cartel violence in Mexico.

In 2009, Eric LeBaron was kidnapped and returned unharmed a week later, as CNN reported at the time. Afterward, his older brother Benjamin became a nationally known anti-crime activist who pushed the local community to take a stand against violence.

Two months later, Benjamin LeBaron, 32, and his brother-in-law Luis Widmar were beaten and shot to death after armed men stormed their home in Chihuahua. Authorities later arrested the alleged ringleader of a drug trafficking family that ran a smuggling operation on Mexico’s border with Texas.

How are officials responding?

In the wake of the attack, US President Donald Trump called for war against the drug cartels in a series of tweets.

“If Mexico needs or requests help in cleaning out these… monsters, the United Stands stands ready, willing & able to get involved and do the job quickly and effectively,” he wrote.

“This is the time for Mexico, with the help of the United States, to wage WAR on the drug cartels and wipe them off the face of the earth. We merely await a call from your great new president!” he added.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he planned to reach out to Trump about the incident.

“I will thank him for his support and we will discuss if we need assistance,” he said. “I do not believe that we will. It’s Mexico’s responsibility.”

The FBI also has offered to assist Mexican authorities in the investigation, an FBI official said.


Source: eastidahonews.com

Be First to Comment

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *