In a horrific incident, at least nine members of an American family, including six children, were killed on Monday in a hail of gunfire as they traveled in northern Mexico, as confirmed by Mexican military.
The family was ambushed by an armed group while their convoy of SUVs was driving on a remote road traveling from Bavispe in Sonora state to the town of Galeana in Chihuahua state between 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. local time, according to Mexico’s security minister, Alfonso Durazo.
The victims reportedly lived in a Mormon community in northern Mexico, about 100 miles south of the Arizona border. The area where the attack took place — is of territorial dispute by a number of cartels, and it’s possible the family’s convoy of cars was mistaken for one of them, Durazo said at a press conference Tuesday morning.
Three women and six children were killed in the ambush. Eight other children survived the massacre and were left injured, while another initially went missing, according to Durazo.
Five children were taken to a hospital in Phoenix with the help of the Mexican military.The child who was missing has since been rescued, he said.
One of the family members, Kendra Lee Miller said media that,8-month old twins were killed in the attack. Some of the survivors are seriously wounded, including a 9-month-old who was shot in the chest and a 4-year-old shot in the back.
The victims include Christina Marie Langford Johnson, 29; Dawna Langford, 43; Trevor Langford, 11; and Rogan Langford, 2. Also killed were Rhonita Miller, 30; Howard Miller, 12; Krystal Miller, 10; and the 8-month-old twins, Titus and Tiana Miller.
Some of the family members tell multiple news outlets that they suspect that the shooting was a case of mistaken identity by drug cartel gunmen, however authorities have not publicly released the motive — or named any suspects in the killings. The FBI has also joined Mexican officials in investigating the killings.
