A bulletin from the Security Secretariat of the State of Mexico reported that at least nine people were injured, most of them shot.
A man shot and killed a Canadian woman and then committed suicide this Monday (20) in the archaeological zone of the pyramids of Teotihuacán, in central Mexico. At least six foreign tourists, including a Colombian child, were injured.
The shots took place at noon in one of the most frequented pre-Hispanic sites in the country, less than two months before the opening of the 2026 Football World Cup, which will be co-organized by Mexico, the United States and Canada.
A bulletin from the Security Secretariat of the State of Mexico, where Teotihuacán is located, detailed in the afternoon that at least nine people were injured, most of them shot.
Among the injured are a Canadian, a Russian, a Dutch man, two Colombian women and a six-year-old boy from the same country, who was shot in the pelvis.
On the social network X, the Chancellor of Canada, Anita Anand, described the incident as “a horrific act of gun violence” and stated that he remained in contact with Mexican authorities.
Direct aggression
The attack was recorded at the Pyramid of the Moon, the only one in the archaeological site that can be climbed by visitors using steep volcanic stone steps.
According to preliminary investigations “it looks like direct aggression”, Cristóbal Castañeda, Secretary of Security of the State of Mexico, told the press.
Videos that circulated on social media, recorded from different angles, show a person who would be the shooter in the middle part of the structure, which is around 45 meters high and where there is a kind of rest.
The individualwho appears in some photos with his face partially covered by a dark mask, appears to hold a short weapon in his hands. After the sound of a gunshot, many people throw themselves on the ground, a few meters away from the attacker.
Federal authorities found “a firearm, a bladed weapon (knife) and useful cartridges” at the location, which remains cordoned off by police and National Guard agents, according to a statement from the federal Security Office.
“What happened today in Teotihuacán hurts us deeply,” said president Claudia Sheinbaum on the social network X.
Mexico has around 200 archaeological sites that are highly attractive to tourists and where some accidents have been recorded, but this is the first report involving an armed attack in many decades.
Due to the World Cup, which will open in Mexico on June 11, an increase in the number of foreign tourists to the pyramid complex is expected.
Teotihuacán is 50 km from Mexico City, where tours leave daily for tourists.
Between January and July 2025, the pyramid complex was the second most visited archaeological site in Mexico, with around one million tourists, second only to Chichén Itzá, on the Yucatán peninsula, according to official data.
Help
If you have suicidal thoughts, look for the CVV (Center for the Valorization of Life) and the Caps (Psychosocial Care Centers) in your city.
CVV operates 24 hours a day (including on holidays) by calling 188, and also responds via email, chat and in person.
