The authorities in Mexico are still piecing together how a typical morning at the ancient pyramid complex of Teotihuacán, one of the country's foremost tourist destinations, descended into terrifying gun violence on Monday.
The video footage is disturbing. A gunman stands atop the imposing Pyramid of the Moon and opens fire on the tourists around him, who cower for cover among the pre-Hispanic stone structures.
After the ordeal, a 32-year-old Canadian woman had been killed and the gunman had died from a self-inflicted gun wound. Tourists from several nations, including Russia, Colombia and Brazil, were treated for their injuries in local hospitals.
The fact that visitors from overseas were targeted poses a headache for the government just weeks before Mexico co-hosts the men's football World Cup.
The shooting came less than two months after masked gunmen from the Jalisco New Generation Cartel unleashed a wave of violence, sowing fear across the country following the killing of their leader El Mencho by the security forces.
But this incident was very different. Mexican authorities say the Teotihuacán gunman acted alone and there was no apparent link to Mexico's widespread cartel violence.
He has been identified as 27-year-old Julio César Jasso Ramírez, a Mexican citizen who lived in Mexico City. The aggressor planned and carried out the attack on his own and there is absolutely no indication at this point that he had any external help or that any other individuals were involved in this incident, said the Attorney-General of Mexico State José Luis Cervantes Martínez.
Among the gunman's belongings, officials found a handgun, a bag of cartridges and a tactical knife. They also found literature, images, manuscripts apparently related to acts of violence which are known may have occurred in the United States in April 1999. A witness reported that the attacker referred to Columbine, the site of a notorious mass shooting in the U.S., echoing a troubling trend of copycat behavior.
This shooting reflects a concerning shift in violence in Mexico, with experts warning it may mirror a rising imitation of mass killings seen in other countries. The recent attack just three weeks after a school shooting in Michoacán has further alarmed citizens about the nature of violence in the country.
As Mexico's leaders strive to reassure the public and upcoming visitors about safety, the haunting images of a gunman shooting at the Pyramid of the Moon may continue to provoke unease, especially as the countdown to the World Cup begins.
