A visit to one of the world’s iconic pyramid sites turned into a terrifying scene.
Two American tourists who survived the fatal shootings on The famous Pyramid of the Moon in Teotihuacán described the deafening sound of gunfire atop a popular tourist and archaeological site in Mexico on Monday.
Greg Magadini of Boise, Idaho, remembers hearing the first gunshot while visiting the site with his friends as part of an 11-person tour. It sounded like “a big crack,” he said.
As the gunman fired, the echo from the pyramids further amplified the loud sounds of gunfire, Magadini told NBC News from Mexico City.
The shooter was standing about 40 feet away when Magadini jumped about 15 feet from the ledge of the pyramid, as he tried to take cover.
“It was really scary,” he said.
On Tuesday, Mexican authorities identified the shooter as Julio César Jasso Ramirez. They said Jasso, 27, shot and killed a Canadian woman and injured seven others before committing suicide.
Forensic experts are working on the Pyramid of the Moon following Monday’s shooting at the Teotihuacán archaeological site in Mexico.Daniel Cardenas/Anadolu via Getty Images“We started hearing gunshots and we didn’t think anything of it because we were told there might have been 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 seeing people running.
“We saw the woman, the Canadian at the top who was fatally shot,” Stoddard said, adding that she could see the woman’s body “lying there” as she witnessed what happened on the other side of another nearby pyramid in Teotihuacán.
“It was pretty scary,” she said in an interview from Mexico City.
Stoddard said one of the people injured was a little boy who was shot in the leg.
“His father he carried into the temple and through the field.” she said. “It was really, really hard to see. This poor boy, he was screaming for help.”
Red Cross members transport a body to the Pyramid of the Moon on Monday. Mexican Red Cross via AFP – Getty ImagesMexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday that she daily morning press conference which “Our solidarity goes to the families of those who lost their lives, as well as to all those currently being treated in hospitals and to all those who endured this situation yesterday.”
According to Omar Garcia HarfuchMexico’s security secretary, his agency received a report that an armed individual attacked civilians around 11 a.m. Monday in the Teotihuacán ceremonial center.
Less than 25 minutes later, a wide range of government agencies began responding to the report. It was at this time that the first images began to circulate showing the “menacing aggressor of tourists” at the La Luna pyramid, Garcia Harfuch said during the press conference.
The gunman then began shooting at authorities as they arrived and they responded with gunfire before Jasso killed himself, officials said.
Stoddard said she witnessed the crossfire between the suspect and police as she hid behind a wall.
“The shooter was at the top of the pyramids and he was looking down,” Stoddard said.
In addition to the seven people injured, six others were seriously injured in the shooting, Garcia Harfuch said. Six of the seven injured have already been released from hospital.
Magadini said one of her friends injured his ankle on a ledge while trying to get to safety and went to the hospital with her for treatment. He said he was fine, other than “minor scratches.”
