A visit to one of the world’s iconic pyramid sites devolved into a terrifying scene.
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Two American tourists who survived the deadly shooting at Teotihuacán’s famous Pyramid of the Moon on Monday described the thundering sound of gunshots atop Mexico’s popular tourist and archeological site.
Greg Magadini of Boise, Idaho recalled hearing the first shot while visiting the site with his friends as part of an 11-people tour. It sounded like “a big crack,” he said.
As the gunman was shooting, the echo of the pyramids further amplified the loud gunshot sounds, Magadini told NBC News from Mexico City.
The gunman was standing about 40 feet from him when Magadini jumped about 15 feet off the pyramid’s ledge, as he attempted to find cover.
“It was really scary,” he said.
On Tuesday, Mexican authorities identified the gunman as Julio César Jasso Ramírez. They said Jasso, 27, fatally shot a Canadian woman and wounded seven other people before killing himself.
“We started to hear gunshots and we didn’t think anything of it because we were told maybe there were fireworks,” said Abigail Stoddard, another American tourist who witnessed the shooting.
Stoddard, who was with her boyfriend visiting Mexico City from Portland, Maine, said they hid behind a wall after they saw people running.
“We did see the woman, the Canadian woman at the top who was fatally shot,” Stoddard said, adding that she could see the woman’s body “lying there” as she witnessed what transpired from across another nearby pyramid at Teotihuacán.
“It was pretty scary,” she said in an interview from Mexico City.
Stoddard said one of the people who was wounded was a little boy, who got shot in the leg.
“His father, he carried him down the temple and across the field.” she said. “It was really, really hard to see. This poor boy, he was screaming out for help.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Tuesday at her daily morning press conference that “our solidarity goes out to the families of those who lost their lives, as well as to all those currently receiving care in hospitals and everyone who endured this situation yesterday.”
According to Omar García Harfuch, Mexico’s secretary of security, his agency received a report of an armed individual attacking civilians at about 11 a.m. Monday in Teotihuacán’s ceremonial center.
Less than 25 minutes later, a wide range of government agencies began responding to the report. That’s when the first images showing “the aggressor threatening some tourists” at the La Luna pyramid began circulating, García Harfuch said at the press conference.
The gunman then began firing at authorities upon their arrival and they responded with gunfire before Jasso took his own life, according to officials.
Stoddard said she witnessed the crossfire between the suspect and police as she took cover behind a wall.
“The gunman, he was at the top of the pyramids and he was looking down,” Stoddard said.
In addition to the seven people who were wounded, six others were seriously injured during the shooting, García Harfuch said. Six of the seven wounded people have already been released from the hospital.
Magadini said one of his friends hurt her ankle on a ledge while trying to find cover and he went to the hospital with her to get treatment. He said he was okay, apart from “minor scratches.”
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