Updates
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Teotihuacan reopened to visitors within days of the attack under a significantly reinforced security presence, with nearly 300 guards, police officers, and National Guard members deployed across the complex. Admission was offered free of charge on the first day of reopening, with bag checks at entry points; metal detectors are set to be installed at all five entrances in the coming days. Dutch authorities confirmed that a 55-year-old Dutch woman was among the 13 people injured in the attack. The shooting has also cast a shadow over pre-World Cup planning: local lawmakers had only days earlier advanced an initiative to revive a nighttime light show projected onto the pyramids for World Cup visitors, a programme that had been suspended since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Investigators found among the gunman's belongings books, handwritten notes, and an AI-generated photo depicting him alongside the perpetrators of the April 1999 Columbine High School massacre — Monday having marked the 27th anniversary of that attack, though officials did not name Columbine explicitly in their statements. Authorities also recovered a knife at the scene in addition to the gun and ammunition. Brazil's foreign ministry confirmed that one of the Brazilian nationals injured was a 13-year-old girl who was shot in the leg; she has since been released from hospital and is with her family, with the Brazilian consulate providing support. Separately, accounts emerged of the gunman taking hostages during the incident, with at least one Brazilian couple from Rio de Janeiro reporting they were directly threatened by the shooter before he turned the weapon on himself.
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Mexico State Prosecutor José Luis Cervantes Martínez revealed Tuesday that the attack was premeditated, stating that shooter Julio César Jasso Ramírez — now identified as a Mexico City resident — had made multiple reconnaissance visits to the site and stayed in nearby hotels in the days before the attack. Among the 13 injured were three Colombians, two Brazilians, six Americans, and one Russian, in addition to the slain Canadian. President Sheinbaum used her morning press conference to call for tighter security measures at tourist and archaeological sites, saying authorities must prevent anyone from entering such locations with a firearm — remarks that took on added urgency given Mexico City is set to host World Cup matches beginning in June.
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The gunman has been identified as Julio César N., 27 years old, according to El País. Among the 13 people injured, at least one was a six-year-old child, and authorities confirmed that seven were struck by gunfire while six others suffered injuries and fractures in the chaos. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the attack "hurts us deeply" and confirmed the government is in contact with the Canadian embassy, adding that she has instructed the Security Cabinet to conduct a thorough investigation.
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Authorities have revised the number of people injured in the attack upward, with 13 now reported hurt in total, according to Mexico state security secretary Cristóbal Castañeda. The nationality of the gunman remains unknown.
A gunman opened fire from the top of the Pyramid of the Moon at Mexico's ancient Teotihuacan archaeological site on Monday, killing a Canadian woman and injuring six others before taking his own life, Mexican authorities have confirmed. The attack began shortly after midday at the northern end of the sprawling complex, located roughly 50 kilometres northeast of Mexico City.
According to Mexico's Security Cabinet, the shooter climbed the Pyramid of the Moon — the second largest structure at Teotihuacan, standing 43 metres tall — and fired on tourists gathered in the Moon Plaza below, an open ceremonial space that forms part of the site's main visitor route. Of the six injured, four were struck by gunfire; two others were hurt after falling down the pyramid's 47 steps while attempting to flee. Among the wounded are two Colombian nationals, one Russian, and one Canadian, according to the State of Mexico's security secretary, Cristóbal Castañeda. All injured were transported to nearby hospitals with assistance from emergency response teams and the Mexican Red Cross. Authorities secured a firearm, a bladed weapon, and several spent cartridges at the scene.
Videos circulating on social media captured the chaos of the first moments, showing visitors running across the plaza and taking cover behind stone walls, while voices could be heard shouting to call the police. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum expressed her condolences, writing on social media: "What happened today in Teotihuacán deeply pains us," and confirmed that her government has been in contact with the Canadian embassy. She ordered her Security Cabinet to conduct a thorough investigation and dispatched personnel from the interior and culture ministries to the site.
Teotihuacan, a pre-Hispanic city built between roughly 100 and 650 AD, was one of the most significant cultural and urban centres in ancient Mesoamerica and today draws approximately 1.6 million visitors per year, making it the second most visited archaeological site in Mexico after Chichén Itzá in the Yucatán peninsula. Notably, access to the top of the Pyramid of the Moon had only been reopened in May of last year — limited to its first tier — after a period of closure for conservation work. Climbing remains prohibited on the site's two other major structures, the Pyramid of the Sun and the Temple of Quetzalcóatl.
The attack raises urgent questions about security at one of Latin America's most iconic heritage sites. Both federal and state security forces were deployed to the zone in the immediate aftermath, and investigations are ongoing.
This article was automatically compiled by AI from the sources above. It may contain inaccuracies. Always read the original sources for the full context.
