A family’s vacation in Mexico was marred by tragedy when two Americans were killed in a brutal attack on Friday. The victims, Vicente Peña Rodríguez and Antonio Fernández Rodríguez, were traveling with a 14-year-old boy, the son of Peña Rodríguez, who was critically injured in the shooting. The family was reportedly celebrating the teen’s birthday when the attack occurred near Las Palmas in Durango.
The incident involved a violent ambush while the family was traveling in an SUV. Peña Rodríguez’s son is currently in a medically induced coma after being shot multiple times. His family is now working to get him transferred to the U.S., though Mexican doctors have deemed him too unstable for travel.
Three of the four family members were killed, and one was critically injured in a shooting in Durango, Mexico, last week. Of the four shot, three were Americans and one was a local resident. pic.twitter.com/iHM6MoUCcG
— Geopolitical Kid (@Geopoliticalkid) January 1, 2025
Vicente Peña, the grandfather of the injured teenager, expressed his grief over the loss of his son and other relatives. He described the shooting as “a massacre” and revealed that the family members were all shot multiple times.
Meanwhile, local officials are still investigating the circumstances of the attack, which has raised significant concern about the safety of American tourists. Advocates for the family are pushing for quicker action to get the teen to the U.S. for better care.
The tragedy has shone a spotlight on the ongoing violence in certain parts of Mexico, leading some to question the safety of Americans abroad. The U.S. State Department has not yet issued a public statement on the incident.
