Bogota, Colombia – Mexican authorities said they would beef up security around tourist destinations following a shooting Monday that killed a Canadian tourist and wounded 12 others.
The attack by a lone gunman on the Teotihuacan pyramids has renewed concerns about the safety of fans ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which Mexico will co-host.
But Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum tried to reassure visitors that mass shootings are rare in the country and described the incident as a one-off.
“It is our duty as a government to take appropriate action to ensure that a situation like this never happens again,” Sheinbaum said Tuesday morning.
Mexican Security Minister Omar García Harpucci added that state security forces had been ordered to “immediately strengthen security” at tourist destinations across the country.
The Teotihuacan Pyramids are a UNESCO Heritage Site and one of the most visited archaeological complexes in Mexico.
But Sheinbaum also emphasized that attacks like the one that occurred Monday are incredibly rare in Mexico. “Obviously we all know, as Mexicans know, this is something that has never happened before.”
Unlike the United States, it is difficult to legally obtain firearms in Mexico, and mass shootings targeting the general public are uncommon.
Mexico has struggled with high murder rates for years, but shootings tend to occur in specific areas where cartel violence has occurred and have little impact on tourists.
ideological motivation
Authorities claim Monday’s shootings, not a sign of a wider security struggle, were committed by “lone wolf” actors who lead extremist views.
Sergio Ortiz Borbolla, director of campaigns and communications at the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, claimed 27-year-old Julio César Jasso Ramírez was a Nazi sympathizer inspired by other mass shootings.
“The investigation is still ongoing, but several factors point to an ideological motivation,” Ortiz said.
He noted that Monday’s shooting occurred on Adolf Hitler’s birthday and the anniversary of the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in the United States that killed 14 people.
The assailant’s social media included posts showing him giving Nazi salutes, and an AI-generated framed photo of him alongside Columbine shooters was found at the scene of the attack, authorities said.
“This incident… highlights the growing influence of extremist online communities in violent acts, a trend that transcends national borders,” Ortiz said.
Mexico’s Attorney General Cervantes also described the “psychopathic profile of the attacker, characterized by a tendency to imitate situations that occur in different places, at different times and involve other individuals – this tendency can be called imitative behavior.”
game countdown
Monday’s shooting is the latest headache for the Mexican government ahead of this summer’s soccer tournament.
Eruptions of cartel violence in February, including in World Cup host city Guadalajara, have raised concerns about the threat of organized crime in the country.
But the government has been trying to reassure visitors that the country is safe, announcing plans to mobilize 100,000 security forces this summer. They also announced that they would deploy an additional 2,100 military vehicles, 24 aircraft, and 33 drones.
But as Ortiz pointed out, the type of violence seen in Mexico this week is “not common.”
“There is no indication that these types of attacks pose a widespread risk to tourists,” he concluded.
Featured Image Description: The Pyramid of the Moon at Teotihuacan, one of the largest pyramids in Mesoamerica, Mexico.
Featured Image Credit: Marcelosan via WIkimedia Commons
