A Mexican nightclub shooting on Sunday at the Playa del Carmen coastal resort strip near Cancun left an American woman and four others dead. Four Americans were among 12 people injured.
Alejandra Villanueva, 18, of the Denver area, died during the shooting at the Blue Parrott nightclub about 2:30 a.m. local time, reported ABC News. Initial reports said she may have been trampled.
Officials said the shooting wasn't believed to be a terrorist attack and came on the final night of the 10-day BPM Festival at Playa del Carmen, a popular resort still thought to be safe for tourists in drug violence-plagued Mexico.
The nightclub shooting could be a major blow to Mexico's tourism industry, noted Reuters. Up to now, tourists attracted by the weak peso exchange rate had been generally shielded from the violence that has killed more than 100,000 people since 2007.
Prosecutor Miguel Angel Pech Cen said shooting started when security tried to stop someone from entering the club with a gun.
Three people were detained but their connection to the shooting has not been determined, authorities told ABC News.
The Denver Post said Villanueva was also identified as Alejandra Villanueva Ibarra. CNN identified the other shooting victims as Canadian Kirk Wilson, Italian Daniel Pessina, Rafael Antonio Penaloza of Mexico, and Geovanni Francisco Ruiz Murillo of Mexico.
"It is with great sadness to share that police have confirmed reports of a lone shooter outside the Blue Parrot nightclub in Playa Del Carmen earlier (Sunday), which resulted in five fatalities and 15 injured," said BPM on its Facebook page.
"The violence began on 12th Street in front of the club and three members of the BPM security team were among those whose lives were lost while trying to protect patrons inside the venue."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.