A gunman inspired by the Columbine massacre killed a Canadian tourist and wounded 13 others at Mexico’s Teotihuacan pyramids, officials said Tuesday, in what authorities are calling a planned attack tied to past mass shootings. It unfolded at one of the country’s most visited heritage sites.
The attacker, identified as 27-year-old Mexico City resident Julio Cesar Jasso Ramirez, died by suicide as military personnel closed in. A Canadian woman in her early 20s was killed in the assault, while 13 others were injured.
Mexico State Prosecutor Jose Luis Cervantes said the suspect had been preparing for the attack in advance, “stayed in hotels near the site ahead of time, and from there planned his violent acts.” he said during a press conference alongside President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Authorities said evidence indicates obsession with mass shootings. Cervantes added, “The collected evidence…reveals a psychopathic profile of the attacker, characterized by a tendency to copy situations that happened in other places at other times by other people."
Investigators found a backpack containing a firearm, a knife and 52 rounds of ammunition. Inside were also materials referencing “violent events that are known to have occurred in the United States in April 1999,” namely the Columbine High School shooting.
That attack, carried out by two students in Colorado on April 20, 1999, left 12 students and a teacher dead before both shooters took their own lives.
Authorities are also reviewing reports that the suspect carried an AI-generated image showing himself alongside the Columbine attackers, and that his clothing matched similar styles worn in that 1999 incident. Mexico's Attorney General said on Tuesday that the shooting was indeed inspired by the 1999 massacre.
Witness Jacqueline Gutierrez, who was visiting the site with family, said the gunman made comments about Columbine during the attack. “One of the things he was saying to us was that this is a place for sacrifices, not for your little photos…and that it’s the anniversary of the Columbine massacre.”
She said the situation escalated quickly on the pyramid. “We couldn’t move or we’d fall down the pyramid…if he had wanted to kill us all, he would have,” she said, noting he also claimed he had been planning the attack for years.
Teotihuacan, built between the first and seventh centuries AD and designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, remained closed following the incident.
The attacker, identified as 27-year-old Mexico City resident Julio Cesar Jasso Ramirez, died by suicide as military personnel closed in. A Canadian woman in her early 20s was killed in the assault, while 13 others were injured.
Mexico State Prosecutor Jose Luis Cervantes said the suspect had been preparing for the attack in advance, “stayed in hotels near the site ahead of time, and from there planned his violent acts.” he said during a press conference alongside President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Authorities said evidence indicates obsession with mass shootings. Cervantes added, “The collected evidence…reveals a psychopathic profile of the attacker, characterized by a tendency to copy situations that happened in other places at other times by other people."
Investigators found a backpack containing a firearm, a knife and 52 rounds of ammunition. Inside were also materials referencing “violent events that are known to have occurred in the United States in April 1999,” namely the Columbine High School shooting.
That attack, carried out by two students in Colorado on April 20, 1999, left 12 students and a teacher dead before both shooters took their own lives.
Authorities are also reviewing reports that the suspect carried an AI-generated image showing himself alongside the Columbine attackers, and that his clothing matched similar styles worn in that 1999 incident. Mexico's Attorney General said on Tuesday that the shooting was indeed inspired by the 1999 massacre.
Witness Jacqueline Gutierrez, who was visiting the site with family, said the gunman made comments about Columbine during the attack. “One of the things he was saying to us was that this is a place for sacrifices, not for your little photos…and that it’s the anniversary of the Columbine massacre.”
She said the situation escalated quickly on the pyramid. “We couldn’t move or we’d fall down the pyramid…if he had wanted to kill us all, he would have,” she said, noting he also claimed he had been planning the attack for years.
Teotihuacan, built between the first and seventh centuries AD and designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, remained closed following the incident.
