Three members of a Chicago family were shot while visiting relatives in Mexico over the holidays. Two of them died, and a 14-year-old boy is in critical condition.
The victims include Vicente Peña Jr., 38, and Antonio “Tony” Fernandez, 44, both from Logan Square in Chicago. Another victim, Jorge Eduardo Vargas Aguirre, 22, from Mexico, was also killed in the attack.
The 14-year-old boy, who survived, is in a medically induced coma due to severe injuries.
“I’m devastated. They wiped out my family,” said Vicente Peña, the father of Peña Jr. and grandfather of the injured teen.
The U.S. State Department confirmed the deaths of two Americans and the injury of a minor in Santiago Papasquiaro, Durango, Mexico. A department spokesperson expressed condolences to the family and said they are in contact with the victims’ families but did not provide further details.
The family was traveling in an SUV with Illinois license plates when they were attacked.
“It was a massacre,” Peña said in Spanish. “My son was shot four times in the head and once in the shoulder. The boy was shot four times too, and the other victim was shot three times.”
Doctors have advised against moving the boy back to the U.S. for medical care as his condition is too fragile. The family plans to bury Peña Jr. and Fernandez in Chicago in the coming weeks.
The Durango region has experienced a rise in crime, according to local authorities. The U.S. State Department has issued a level 2 travel advisory for the area, urging travelers to exercise increased caution due to crime.
