Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has promised an investigation into the shooting at a set of historic pyramids that killed one Canadian tourist and wounded one other.
Sheinbaum wrote on social media that Monday’s shooting at the location of the Teotihuacán pyramids “deeply pains” her government and said she was in contact with the Canadian Embassy.
“I express my most sincere solidarity with the affected individuals and their families,” she wrote.
An armed man standing atop considered one of the historic Teotihuacan pyramids opened fire on tourists Monday, killing one Canadian and leaving at the very least 13 people injured on the archaeological site north of Mexico’s capital, authorities said.
The shooter was identified as 27-year-old Julio Cesar Jasso of Mexico, a state official told the AP on condition of anonymity because he will not be authorized to talk in regards to the case. Jasso later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said, and security officials found a gun, a knife and ammunition.
Jasso was the only real assailant within the attack, the State of Mexico government confirmed on Monday night.
The local government said seven people were wounded by gunshots. How the opposite people were injured was not disclosed, but plenty of people fell when shooting began, some while climbing on the pyramids.
Those taken to hospitals for treatment were six Americans, three Colombians, one Russian, two Brazilians and one Canadian, the local government said. The youngest one that was injured was 6; the oldest was 61, Mexican authorities said.
FILE– Forensic experts carry the body of a victim down a pyramid after authorities said a gunman opened fire, in Teotihuacan, Mexico, Monday, April 20, 2026.
(AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Video and photos published by local media showed a person, later identified as Jasso, standing with a gun on top of a pyramid while people ducked for canopy. Plenty of gunshots rang out within the videos.
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The Teotihuacan pyramids, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are a series of massive structures on the outskirts of Mexico City built by three different ancient civilizations. As considered one of Mexico’s most significant touristic destinations, the location drew greater than 1.8 million international visitors last yr, based on government figures.
The shooting took place shortly after 11:30 a.m. when dozens of tourists were at the highest of the Pyramid of the Moon. The standing on the structure’s platform began firing upward, based on a tour guide who was on the scene and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.
Some people, because they were scared … threw themselves face down on the bottom, and the remaining of us began to go down,” the guide said, recounting how the shooter, upon seeing the tourists descending the pyramid’s steps, began firing.
One other group of holiday makers lay motionless on the pyramid’s platform to avoid being targeted by the shooter, who authorities haven’t yet identified.
Brenda Lee, of Vancouver, British Columbia, said she was waiting to purchase a souvenir when she and others in her group thought they heard firecrackers.
“Before we knew it, someone said, ‘No, that’s gunfire, run,’ and we saw people coming off the highest,” she told CTV News, considered one of Canada’s national television broadcasters.
“There have been hundreds of individuals there and there have been a whole lot of gunshots that just kept coming,” Lee said.
The scene quickly turned chaotic as people tried to flee, Lee said.
“After which a fellow jumped,” she said. “It was someone attempting to get away, and he dropped to the following level, but he fell on his back, and it was … it just was awful.”
In past years, staff on the archaeological site carried out security scans before people entered the world but have since stopped, one local guide noted.
FILE– Police patrol the pyramids after authorities said a gunman opened fire in Teotihuacan, Mexico, Monday, April 20, 2026.
(AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Anita Anand, Canada’s foreign affairs minister, said on X that as a “results of a horrific act of gun violence, a Canadian was killed and one other wounded in Teotihuacán” and that her “thoughts are with their family and family members.”
Later within the evening U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson also expressed “deep concern” and sadness over the deaths and diverse injuries, and said on a post on X that the U.S. is “ready to offer support as needed while Mexican authorities proceed their investigation.”
The National Institute of Anthropology and History said in a press release that the Teotihuacán archaeological site will remain closed until further notice.
© 2026 The Canadian Press