Personal argument blamed for five dead, 15 injured in shooting at Mexico's BPM festival

Record ID: 164605

  • Title: Personal argument blamed for five dead, 15 injured in shooting at Mexico's BPM festival
  • Date: 17th January 2017
  • Summary: UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION, QUINTANA ROO, MEXICO (JANUARY 16, 2017) (REUTERS) TOURISTS WALKING IN FRONT OF NIGHTCLUB SIGN AT NIGHTCLUB
  • Embargoed: 31st January 2017 01:08
  • Keywords: Mexico Playa del Carmen shooting crime deaths
  • Location: PLAYA DEL CARMEN, QUINTANA ROO AND UNKNOWN LOCATION, MEXICO
  • City: PLAYA DEL CARMEN, QUINTANA ROO AND UNKNOWN LOCATION, MEXICO
  • Country: Mexico
  • Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Crime
  • Reuters ID: LVA0035ZGVRCZ
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:The governor of the Mexico's Quintana Roo state has blamed a personal disagreement for the deaths of five people, including foreigners, who were killed in a shooting incident on Monday (January 16) at a nightclub in Playa del Carmen during the BPM electronic music festival.
    Officials reported a Canadian, an Italian and a Mexican were among the dead, while the nationality of the other two victims was still unclear. One of the dead died in the stampede to exit the club.
    "Initial investigations have indicated that this was a personal disagreement between two (individuals) in which one shot the other. It resulted in the intervention of security who then were attacked to stop them (intervening). The conflict affected those people at the event who were alarmed and tried to escape. In the chaos they stepped on a woman who had unfortunately fallen, resulting in her death," said Quintana Roo Governor Carlos Joaquin.
    Officials reported the incident began when a person entered the Blue Parrot nightclub armed around 3 a.m. (0800 GMT) on Monday morning, during the closing of the festival. Another person tried to stop the person, sparking a gunfight that drew in security staff.
    The shooter is still reportedly at large.
    "All crimes are reprehensible but especially those which have consequences on innocent people. My commitment is to respond with justice to those that have committed these acts of violence. The state is in order and public servants from the three levels of government are working to detain those responsible and to bring them to justice," added Joaquin.
    The shooting represents a major blow to Mexico's tourism industry, which has been one of the few bright spots in the economy thanks to a weak peso exchange rate.
    Tourists are generally shielded from the drug violence that has ripped Mexico apart over the last decade, killing well over 100,000 people since 2007.
    Quintana Roo and the surrounding Yucatan peninsula have traditionally been less violent than other parts of Mexico, with relatively low murder rates.
    However, with many foreign tourists and a vibrant night life scene, there has long been an important local drug market in and around Playa Del Carmen, which is just south of the popular resort city of Cancun.
    The BPM festival, which was entering its 10th year, has grown to be one of the biggest electronic music events in the world, with top DJs flying in every January to play the clubs of Playa del Carmen along Mexico's Caribbean coast.
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