On a Monday midday at one of Mexico’s most celebrated and heavily visited historical landmarks, a violent shooting outbreak left one Canadian national dead and 13 other people injured, according to official Mexican law enforcement and government statements. The incident unfolded at the Teotihuacan archaeological site, a 2,000-year-old pre-Aztecan pyramid complex located just outside of Mexico City in central Mexico, drawing millions of global tourists every year.
Cristobal Castaneda, security secretary for the Mexico State where the UNESCO-recognized site is located, confirmed that the unidentified gunman — whose nationality remains unconfirmed by authorities — took their own life immediately after opening fire on crowds of visitors. Of the 13 injured people, six suffered direct gunshot wounds and required transport to local medical facilities for treatment. The wounded group includes a Canadian woman, a Colombian adult and child, one Brazilian national, and two American citizens. An additional seven people sustained injuries during the chaotic rush to evacuate to safety; those injuries were treated on-site by emergency responders, and this group counts one Russian, one Colombian, one Brazilian, and four American citizens among its numbers.
Footage captured by AFPTV from the scene shows a body covered in a white shroud being carried down the steps of one of the site’s famous ancient pyramids, a stark image that underscores the violence that disrupted what is normally a peaceful cultural attraction. Responding state law enforcement personnel quickly secured the area, seizing a handgun, a knife, and a cache of unused ammunition from the site before organizing a full evacuation of all remaining tourists.
Tourism data shows the ancient pyramid city welcomed more than 1.8 million visitors in 2025 alone, cementing its status as a core pillar of Mexico’s cultural tourism economy. The shocking shooting comes less than two months before the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a massive international sporting event co-hosted by Mexico, the United States, and Canada that is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors to Mexican tourist sites across the country.
Global and Mexican political leaders have quickly responded to the violence. Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand labeled the attack a “horrific act of gun violence” in a public post on the social platform X. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum also issued a public statement, ordering a full, exhaustive investigation into the incident and confirming that she had deployed additional federal and local personnel to the site to support emergency response efforts and assist affected visitors. “What happened today in Teotihuacan deeply pains us,” Sheinbaum wrote in her post on X.