Two people were killed and three others — including a police officer — were injured during a gunfight at a beach club Halloween party in Tulum, Quintana Roo, on Sunday.
The Quintana Roo Attorney General’s Office (FGE) said in a statement that two men were killed and two women and a man were wounded in the early hours of Sunday at a “massive music event,” which was staged illegally at the Vagalume Beach Club.
Large events are currently prohibited due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The FGE said that preliminary investigations indicated that two Quintana Roo police officers were illegally providing bodyguard services to a “supposed businessman” attending the party.
According to local media reports, two armed men burst into the party and one of the police-cum-bodyguards, noticing their presence, started shooting at them. The police officer killed both gunmen but not before they shot him twice, once in the leg and once in the ribs.
A man and a woman were wounded in the crossfire. The second policeman was not injured, the FGE said, adding that both officers are under investigation. The wounded officer reportedly provided a statement to the FGE after he was discharged from the hospital.
The gunfight caused panic among the approximately 500 partygoers, among whom were both tourists and locals. They rushed to flee the violence that abruptly interrupted the alcohol-fueled revelry.
The FGE said it had seized weapons used in the gunfight including two that are assigned exclusively to state police officers.
The Attorney General’s Office also said it had secured the venue where the unauthorized event was held and that it would take legal action against its owners. In addition, it said it would investigate municipal government officials who may have allowed the party to be held.
Sunday’s gun battle came just two weeks after five people were killed at a bar in Manuel Antonio Ay, a community about 35 kilometers northwest of the town of Tulum.
