(Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
A shootout on a Mexico beach Nov. 4 prompted the lockdown of a hotel that is hosting a weeklong event organized by an LGBTQ travel company.
Mexican media reports indicate a group of 15 armed men who are members of rival drug gangs began to shoot at each other on the beach in front of the Hyatt Riva Riviera Cancun in Puerto Morelos, a town on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula that is between the resort cities of Cancún and Playa del Carmen.
Vacaya organized the event at the hotel.
Social media posts show pictures of hotel guests gathered in the lobby, while others indicate they were told to shelter in place.
Active shooter at Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun Resort. All guests confined to lobby now. Hotel staff huddled together in corner. Still no announcement or update from hotel, Hyatt, or police. Several guests have now told be they saw gunman come up from the beach, actively shooting. pic.twitter.com/fL9BP7Jisb
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) November 4, 2021
All guests and employees told to duck, and we’re all taken to hiding places at Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun Resort. Active shooter? Terrorist or kidnapping threat? They’re not telling us anything. pic.twitter.com/Hf7SRzRJIZ
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) November 4, 2021
The attorney general’s office in Quintana Roo, the Mexican state in which Puerto Morelos is located, in a tweet said the shootout left two gang members dead.
“There are no serious injuries,” the office added.
Officials have also said neither hotel nor the Vacaya event were the gang members’ target.
La @FGEQuintanaRoo informa que se registró un enfrentamiento entre integrantes de grupos antagónicos de narcomenudistas en una playa de Bahía Petempich, Puerto Morelos. Dos de ellos perdieron la vida en el lugar. No hay heridos de gravedad.
Información en proceso ⚠️
— Fiscalía General QR (@FGEQuintanaRoo) November 4, 2021
