A teenage boy allegedly shot and killed two female teachers at a high school in the Pacific coast port city of Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán, on Tuesday morning.

The shooting occurred at the Antón Makárenko High School (Preparatoria) in the downtown area of Lázaro Cárdenas. The alleged perpetrator — reportedly a 15-year-old student at the school — was detained.

“After a report from @C5Michoacan [command center] due to gunfire detonations at the Makárenko High School in Lázaro Cárdenas, the [Michoacán] Civil Guard along with municipal police carried out an operation resulting in the arrest of an adolescent allegedly related to the events,” the Michoacán Security Ministry (SSP) said on social media.  

The ministry said that two deceased women with bullet wounds were located inside the school. It also said security forces seized a 5.56 millimeter caliber rifle.

Video footage showed the alleged perpetrator being held by a police officer, who had apparently tied a thin rope around the youth’s waist prior to handcuffing him. According to some media reports, the adolescent opened fire after he was initially blocked from entering the school. The newspaper El Universal reported that it appears he was denied entry because he had arrived late, while the news outlet La Silla Rota said there were claims that he had been expelled from the school and was seeking revenge.

Authorities didn’t mention any possible motive for the crime.

El Universal reported that the suspect is the step-son of a member of the navy and perpetrated the double homicide with an AR-15 rifle. He was not immediately identified by name. La Silla Rota reported that the suspect had shown off his firearm in a video posted to social media.

Victims identified as teachers in their 30s 

The two victims of the shooting were identified as María del Rosario, 36, and Tatiana Bedolla, 37. Both were teachers at the high school in downtown Lázaro Cárdenas and died at the scene of the crime.

The shooting reportedly triggered panic among students and teachers at the Antón Makárenko High School, a private educational institute. According to reports, they hid in classrooms after gunshots rang out and called emergency services to request help.

Personnel from the Michoacán Attorney General’s Office reportedly went to the school to collect evidence.

School shootings are rare in Mexico, but not unheard of. Among the previous incidents are a shooting perpetrated at a primary school in Torreón, Coahuila, in 2020. In that incident, an 11-year-old boy killed his teacher and wounded five students and one teacher before taking his own life.

With reports from Aristegui Noticias, Reforma, La Silla Rota, El Universal and N+