‘Horrifying scene’: Vancouver group was visiting Mexican tower when gunshots rang out – BC
A Vancouver resident was visiting the Mexican towers of Teotihuacán on Monday when gunfire erupted.
Barb Welsh is in Mexico with seven girlfriends and they were on a private trip to the Pyramid of the Moon.
“Me and my girlfriend, Leanne…
“We thought about a quarter of the way up, both of us, and we were starting to feel – it’s a big climb and we were starting to feel the height.”
So they decided to go back down.
“Thank you for going back,” Welsh said.
The group was downstairs, looking at the vendors, when the shots rang out.
“We thought, ‘Oh my God, that sounds like fireworks. What is that?’ Welsh said.
“Then I looked up and saw people like a waterfall coming down from the towers and we said, ‘Hey, you know this guy said he’s a shooter. Run, run…’ So we ran again as fast as the shooting was still going on and we could hear and see people falling down the towers and it was lucky, it was lucky how we got everywhere.”
Welsh said they got to the parking lot where their guide called their driver and they got into the van as the shooting continued.
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He said he doesn’t think anyone saw what happened, but they felt very lucky to get out of there unharmed.
A Canadian woman was killed in a shooting incident, four people were injured by gunfire and two were injured in a fall, according to Mexico’s Secretariat of State Security.
The shooter is believed to have taken his own life.
“The shooting didn’t stop until we got to the van,” Welsh said. “And I would say at least 20 minutes of shots, at least.”
The pyramids of Teotihuacán are the most popular tourist destination outside of Mexico City.
“We were like, ‘How is this possible?'” Welsh said.
“This seems like a gentle town and everyone has been so nice. And you never, I think, like everyone says, you never think it’s going to happen to you. And we’re just, totally shocked. And we’re so happy that we were able to get out and we’re so thankful that I turned around.
“I mean, it’s just luck. I turned around when we were walking up the stairs. Me and my girlfriend Leanne were going to be at the top. No question. The shooter is actually in two of our photos.”
Welsh said it was difficult to imagine the people visiting the tourist attraction, which has people of all ages, adding that they were all still in shock.
“Just thank you,” he said.
“Thank you very much. Thank you that our guide led us in the right direction. I mean, if someone says run, you don’t know where he ran and he put us in the parking lot and we are all together the whole time with our van driver, who drove like a crazy person. Actually, the notice went out to his manager to take us recklessly, we saw that he was driving us. in the van.
Welsh said that despite the incident, he still feels safe in Mexico.
“I think this could happen anywhere,” he said.
“And we’ve had it, we’ve been in for a week now. We’ve had an amazing time. We’ve never felt unsafe here at all. In fact, I think it’s one of the safest places I feel like we’ve ever been.
“People are very kind. It’s very shocking. I feel bad that this happened. It’s just a terrible situation.”
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