A 12-year-old boy was killed after he was hit by a stray bullet while at a Cancun beach with his family on Sunday afternoon, authorities in Mexico said.
Local Mexican newspaper Riviera Maya News reported two men arrived at the beach on a jet ski and began shooting at another group of people over a drug sales dispute, and that the boy was not the intended target. The newspaper cited the State Attorney General’s Office of Mexico.
The young boy, who was a Mexican resident, was rushed to a local hospital where he later died.
Another local Mexican newspaper, El Universal, reported that the deadly shooting happened near Hotel Riu Cancun, which is located right in the popular resort city’s hotel zone. The boy and his family were not guests of the hotel, a spokesperson reportedly told the newspaper.
It's just the latest violent incident to occur in an area of Mexico that sees heavy tourist traffic year-round.
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Back in May, authorities found the bodies of four men and two women strangled and dumped in a pile in Acapulco, a resort city on the country's Pacific coast.
That same month, the bodies of three surfers — including one U.S. citizen — were found dumped in a well with gunshot wounds to their heads after they went missing during a camping trip in the Baja California region of Mexico.
Currently, the U.S. Department of State has Cancun under an "exercise increased caution" travel advisory because of the increased violence, which it said can range from random street crime to cartel-related attacks.
