Tourists flee for cover during shooting that leaves 2 dead in Puerto Morelos

A confrontation between presumed drug dealers left two people dead in Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, while tourists and locals scrambled for cover.

The attackers arrived by boat on a beach in the Riviera Maya destination, then proceeded to execute two presumed low-level drug dealers. The incident occurred in Petempich Bay, causing many in the area to seek safe haven in the nearby hotels, including the Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancún and Azul Beach Resort. In addition to the two deaths, a tourist received medical attention for a mild injury after being hit in the head with a firearm.

One witness to the chaos was NBC executive Mike Sington, who was at the Hyatt at the time.

“All guests and employees told to duck, and we’re all taken to hiding places at Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun Resort. Active shooter? Terrorist or kidnapping threat? They’re not telling us anything,” Sington said on Twitter, posting video showing how he and others followed staff instructions to hide in the depths of the hotel.

“Other guests told me they heard gunfire. Resort is secluded, was told gunman came up from the beach. Hotel employees hugging each other,” he wrote half an hour later.

Another hotel guest wrote, also on Twitter: “Active shooter in our hotel. We’re hiding in my room, a group of us. Praying all guests and hotel staff get through this. Men with machine guns came in from the beach.”

Some 2 1/2 hours later, around 5 p.m., Hyatt staff told hotel guests that someone had been apprehended, but advised them to shelter in their rooms with the doors barricaded, Sington said. But state officials have not announced any arrests.

Rather, the Quintana Roo Attorney General’s Office has only reported that the disturbance was a conflict between drug dealers, and that there were no serious injuries apart from the deaths of the alleged drug dealers.

With reports from Milenio

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
For Mexico's searching mothers, the inaugural match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup was an important opportunity to keep the country's crisis of disappearances front and center.

‘All eyes are on the World Cup’: How Mexico’s searching mothers are seizing the tournament to fight for the disappeared

0
Protesters packed southern Mexico City on the first day of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, drowning out the celebrations with a reminder that behind the spectacle, tens of thousands of families are still searching for their missing loved ones.
Cozumel Dwarf fox

Cozumel’s dwarf fox lives! Mysterious canid gets a ‘second chance’ 20 years after its last sighting

0
After millennia separated from the gray fox, the Cozumel fox is referred to as "dwarf" for the simple reason that it has evolved to be at least 60% smaller than its mainland relatives.
Mexican peso 500 peso bills

Peso nears its best rate of 2026 as US-Iran tensions ease

0
The peso opened Friday at 17.20 per dollar, its strongest level in nearly four months, as Trump's comments on an Iran deal lifted investor appetite for emerging market currencies.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity