Residents of a neighborhood in Agua Prieta, Sonora, awoke in panic early Monday morning when a convoy of armed civilians opened fire in the streets, leaving two dead and one injured.
Two houses in the city across the border from Douglas, Arizona, were left riddled with bullet holes and two vehicles were burned.
Frightened residents documented the event on social media, relating it to the recent confrontation between security forces and the Sinaloa Cartel in Cuilacán.
“We fell asleep in Agua Prieta and woke up in Culiacán,” read one post. “Culiacán style,” read another.
Mayor Jesús Alfonso Montaño Durazo notified the public via his Facebook page that he was monitoring the situation closely.
“Right now the city is being patrolled in a joint operation and all is calm. However, there could still be unpredictable risks,” he said.
“Considering that the activities are happening regularly, caution is recommended and I leave it up to parents’ judgement to decide their families’ activities and whether or not they want to send their kids to school.”
Authorities across the border in Douglas notified residents of “sustained automatic gunfire” in Agua Prieta, but said there was no threat to Douglas or Cochise County at the time. The sheriff warned against traveling to Mexico.
“Residents are cautioned to avoid unnecessary travel to Mexico at this time,” said the Douglas police department in a statement.
The travel warning was issued on the same day as news broke that an attack on a Mormon family living in Mexico left three adults and six children dead.
State and federal forces were dispatched to Agua Prieta to provide reinforcements and strengthen public security in the area.
Sources: El Universal (sp), ABC News (en)
