Gunshots reported in Cancun International Airport, Mexico

Authorities in Quintana Roo, Mexico, reported a shooting inside Terminal 3 of Cancun International Airport.

Reportedly, it was around 11:30 a.m. when the attack occurred, causing passengers waiting inside the facility to panic and flee. This incident prompted a massive mobilization of security forces from both the National Guard and the Secretary of Security.

According to the Quintana Roo Prosecutor’s Office, no injured persons have been registered thus far; however, the agency’s head, Oscar Montes de Oca, stated that it has not yet been confirmed that the shooting occurred at the air terminal.

The Secretary of Public Security of Quintana Roo, Lucio Hernández Gutiérrez, assured through their official Twitter account that no injuries, percussion cartridges, or indications that confirm the fact have been found in the area of the incident, and that the investigation will continue.

Still no confirmation of shots fired in terminal

Despite ruling out a firearms attack, Terminal 3 operations were momentarily suspended to ensure the safety of passengers, which was never in jeopardy, resuming minutes later. According to social media images, detonations of fire were reported at one of the boarding gates in terminal 3, which is the most heavily used by international airlines, forcing hundreds of tourists to seek shelter outside the premises or even in the planes.

This prompted the activation of a red code in the area, and security forces from the National Guard and the Mexican Army arrived within minutes. Hundreds of people are seen leaving the terminal in images broadcast by network users, most of them carrying their suitcases and some of them visibly upset.

Real case of concern

So far this year, 75 intentional homicides have been reported in the southeastern state of Quintana Roo, according to official figures. The state, which serves as a tourist hub for the Riviera Maya and Cancun, began the year with a series of events that put the country on high alert.

In mid-January, a shooting occurred inside a prestigious Xcaret hotel in Playa del Carmen, killing two Canadians and injuring one, who were presumably involved in drug trafficking. A week later, Federico Mazzoni, manager of a popular Playa del Carmen restaurant, was gunned down.

Months earlier, in October, two foreign tourists were killed and three others were injured in a shooting at a restaurant in Tulum, one of the most fashionable places in the Caribbean.

Mexico recorded 33,308 homicides in 2021, following the two most violent years in its history under Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s presidency, with 34,690 murder victims in 2019 and 34,554 in 2020.