{"id":19149,"date":"2026-04-22T00:39:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T00:39:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/19149\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T00:39:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T00:39:21","slug":"gunman-at-mexican-pyramid-carried-materials-related-to-columbine-massacre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/19149\/","title":{"rendered":"Gunman at Mexican pyramid carried materials related to Columbine massacre"},"content":{"rendered":"

MEXICO CITY (AP) \u2014 The gunman who opened fire on tourists<\/a> at Mexico\u2019s iconic Teotihuacan pyramids<\/a> carried materials that were apparently related to the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School, authorities said Tuesday, a day after the attack that killed a Canadian woman and left at least 13 people injured.<\/p>\n

Although officials did not mention Columbine by name, they referred to several books and handwritten notes that belonged to the gunman and referenced attacks in the United States in April 1999. Monday was the 27th anniversary of the massacre in Colorado<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Among the gunman\u2019s belongings was a photo modified by artificial intelligence showing him alongside the Columbine attackers, according to a state official who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to address the media.<\/p>\n

Seven people were wounded by gunshots at the archaeological site north of the Mexican capital, the local government said. The nature of the other injuries was not disclosed, but some people fell when the shooting started, including some who were climbing on the pyramids.<\/p>\n

The assailant, who acted alone, shot and killed himself, authorities said, and security officials found a gun, a knife and ammunition at the scene.<\/p>\n

Attack came before World Cup tournament<\/p>\n

The attack happened less than two months before Mexico co-hosts the 2026 FIFA World Cup<\/a> soccer tournament. Mexico\u2019s security secretary, Omar Garc\u00eda Harfuch, said major tourist destinations would see a heightened presence of both ground forces and digital \u201ccyber patrols\u201d to prevent threats.<\/p>\n

\u201cYesterday\u2019s attack highlights the urgent need to strengthen our security protocols,\u201d Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum<\/a> said. She also noted the importance of analyzing \u201cexternal influences\u201d that may provoke such violence within the country.<\/p>\n

While such attacks are uncommon in Latin America, they are not unheard of. Earlier this month, Argentine authorities linked a teenager to the \u201ctrue crime community\u201d after the teen killed one student and wounded eight others at a school in the central province of Santa Fe. The community is an online subculture that emerged from forums established after the Columbine massacre to discuss and, in some cases, glorify such violence.<\/p>\n

Taken to hospitals after the Mexico attack were six people from the U.S., three from Colombia, one from Russia, one from Brazil, one from the Netherlands and one from Canada, the local government said. The youngest person who was hurt was 6; the oldest was 61, Mexican authorities said.<\/p>\n

Shooter scouted tourist site ahead of attack<\/p>\n

Authorities identified the attacker as 27-year-old Julio C\u00e9sar Jasso Ram\u00edrez, a native of Guerrero, Mexico, who, they said, arrived in Teotihuacan a day earlier in an Uber and stayed in a hotel.<\/p>\n

Then on Monday shortly before noon, while atop the Pyramid of the Moon, he began firing at tourists with an old revolver while holding a plastic bag containing 52 .38-caliber cartridges in his other hand, said Jos\u00e9 Luis Cervantes Mart\u00ednez, the attorney general of the state of Mexico, which includes Teotihuacan.<\/p>\n

From the summit of the pyramid, the attacker opened fire on tourists and targeted approaching security forces. Some people threw themselves to the ground and lay motionless to avoid detection. Others fled down the structure as gunshots echoed, Cervantes Mart\u00ednez said.<\/p>\n

National Guard members eventually scaled the pyramid and wounded the attacker in the leg. Witnesses said the gunman shot and killed himself once he felt cornered, according to Cervantes Mart\u00ednez.<\/p>\n

The assailant carried a tactical-style backpack containing an analog cellphone and bus tickets, Cervantes Mart\u00ednez said.<\/p>\n

The attorney general also noted the presence of \u201cliterature, images and manuscripts\u201d that related to \u201cviolent incidents known to have occurred in the United States in April 1999,\u201d a likely reference to the Columbine attack<\/a> in which 12 students and a teacher were killed.<\/p>\n

Investigators built \u201ca psychopathic profile\u201d of the suspect that was \u201ccharacterized by a tendency to copy situations that occurred in other places, at other times and involving other figures,\u2019\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Greg Magadini, of Boise, Idaho, was with a tour group on top of the pyramid when he heard a loud crack followed by screaming. The gunman was about 40 feet (12 meters) away on the same platform with roughly 60 tourists, he said.<\/p>\n

Magadini jumped down a ledge and scrambled for cover while two of his friends stayed on the platform above trying to hide.<\/p>\n

Witnesses said everyone was a target<\/p>\n

Shots seemed to ring out every five seconds, Magadini said, as he and the others jumped down more ledges to reach the ground. Then they ran through a field behind the pyramid, carrying one of his friends who badly injured her ankle on one of the jumps.<\/p>\n

Magadini, who came away with scrapes and cuts, said he did not see the shooter, but his friends said the gunman seemed to fire randomly in all directions. \u201cEveryone was a target,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Later at the hospital, they talked with other tourists, who said the shooter at one point played strange music and taunted them, saying he hated tourists, Magadini said.<\/p>\n

The Teotihuacan pyramids, a UNESCO World Heritage Site<\/a>, are a series of ancient structures on the outskirts of Mexico City<\/a>. As one of Mexico\u2019s most popular tourist destinations, the site drew more than 1.8 million international visitors last year, according to government figures.<\/p>\n

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney offered condolences to the family and friends of the Canadian tourist who was killed. He said Canadian authorities were working with those in Mexico.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a terrible circumstance,\u201d Carney said.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press writers Megan Janetsky and and Fabiola S\u00e1nchez in Mexico City and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Follow AP\u2019s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/latin-america<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MEXICO CITY (AP) \u2014 The gunman who opened fire on tourists at Mexico\u2019s iconic Teotihuacan pyramids carried materials…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19150,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[4073,219,2709,1785,1788,434,50,11567,439,8,11565,11566,218,7976,215,6784,98,9,11568,67,59,436,7,54,106],"class_list":{"0":"post-19149","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-stories","8":"tag-accidents","9":"tag-central-america","10":"tag-claudia-sheinbaum","11":"tag-co-state-wire","12":"tag-colorado","13":"tag-crime","14":"tag-general-news","15":"tag-greg-magadini","16":"tag-gun-violence","17":"tag-headlines","18":"tag-jos-luis-cervantes-martnez","19":"tag-julio-csar-jasso-ramrez","20":"tag-latin-america","21":"tag-mark-carney","22":"tag-mexico","23":"tag-mexico-government","24":"tag-military-and-defense","25":"tag-news","26":"tag-omar-garca-harfuch","27":"tag-politics","28":"tag-schools","29":"tag-shootings","30":"tag-top-stories","31":"tag-u-s-news","32":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@news\/116445574756326981","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19149\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}