Tourists visiting Mexico’s resort city Cancún rushed to safety after a group of armed men came onto the beach and started shooting.
On Thursday, Cancún workers and visitors ran for safety after a “confrontation” between drug dealers broke out into a shooting at the Hyatt Ziva in Puerto Morelos, south of Cancún. On Twitter, the security secretariat for the Quintana Roo state area said, “No tourists were seriously hurt or kidnapped.”
Two of the 15 men involved in the violence were killed, The Guardian reports. At least one man was left injured. Reports show the men were armed with “long guns.” Local news reports the men were drug dealers. Police report that “a second drug dealer” tried to hide in a hotel room but was eventually killed.
A spokesperson for the Hyatt hotel said: “We understand the hotel team immediately engaged local authorities, who are on the scene investigating the situation.” Visitors voiced online how the entire ordeal shook them.
“Men with guns stormed the beach and started shooting,” tweeted Andrew Krop, who was a guest at the hotel. “Please spread the word and get help on this. I have no idea what to do.”
This is just one incident among the slew of “attacks in Tulum’s tourist zone,” says Vicente Carrera, publisher of news site Noticaribe. “We’re seeing a bunch of groups wanting to occupy territories, and it seems like there’s no agreement among them. The same people dealing drugs are now working extortion rackets,” said Carrera.
