30 miles north of Mexico City, the Teotihuacan Pyramids was attacked, turning into a truly terrifying scene at one of Mexico’s most popular tourist destinations.

Shooting at the tourist attraction involved a murder-suicide after the shooter injured 13, killing one. Authorities have identified the shooter as 27-year-old Julio César Jasso Ramíez according to NBC News. The authorities were able to confirm this identification on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, one day after the shooting took place on Monday, April 20. 

Reports of the shooting were received at 11:20 a.m., on a late Monday morning. As shown on Fox News, the shooter than committed suicide on the scene at 11:45 a.m., the National Guard stated. 

Many were wounded and injured from jumping off the pyramids in panic, with varying other causes alongside this. A total of two Americans and seven foreigners were wounded by the gunshots; the other six foreigners were injured during the chaos of it all. Unfortunately, a 32-year-old Canadian woman was fatally shot and killed with her name protected by privacy laws as demonstrated on Aljazeera. 

Statements from victims have been released by Greg Magadini and Abigail Stoddard. Magadini was an American tourist visiting the site with two friends. Magadini stated the first shot sounded like a “big crack” while the upcoming shots were further enhanced due to the echo the pyramids caused. Magadini feared for his life, ultimately having no choice but to jump 15 feet off the pyramids ledge while the gunman was 40 feet away. Moreover, Stoddard had a similar but different experience as she stated, “We started to hear gunshots and we didn’t think anything of it because we were told maybe there were fireworks”. Stoddard hid behind the pyramid walls amidst the unfolding chaos all while witnessing the Canadian woman get fatally shot at the top of the pyramid, all reported on NBC News. 

President of Mexico, Sheinbaum and Attorney State General of Mexico, José Luis Cervantes Martínez have revealed a major part of the shooter’s motive, the 1999 Columbine massacre in Colorado. The shooting coincidentally happened on the 27th anniversary of the Columbine massacre all while the shooter carried a backpack with mysterious handwritten notes along with a knife and 52 rounds of ammunition. As shown on CNN, these handwritten notes were related and referenced the Columbine attack. 

Many are debating on whether this unfortunate conflict could have been prevented. On Tuesday, April 21 early morning, Sheibaum made a statement that said, “Our obligation as a government is to take the appropriate measures to ensure that a situation like this does not happen again. But clearly, we all know – Mexicans know – that this is something that had not previously taken place”, as seen on NPR. The government has now been taking action on preventions of unwanted future events similar to this one by strengthening security at archeological sites and popular tourist attractions across the country. This includes the FIFA World Cup’s security out of fear. 

With the dangers and effects of this devastating event, the Teotihuacan pyramids will remain closed until further notice.