Two men killed outside Mexican casino, police reveal
Publication date: May 12, 2021, 04: 20 hrs.
Last updated: May 12 , 2021, 05: 36 h.
Mexican police are continuing to search for the killers of two men who were shot earlier this week outside a gambling venue within miles of the U.S. border. Witnesses report that it was a drive-by shooting.
The unnamed casino is located in Plaza La Herradura, a commercial district in San Luis Rio Colorado. It is a city in the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora.
The men who were fatally shot were identified as 62-year-old and 33-year-old , according to KYMA, a television station in Arizona. The station gave only their first names.
The suspects fled the area after the shooting Monday afternoon. They remained at large as of Wednesday.
Diners at a restaurant next to the casino crowded under tables and shouted in Spanish during the shooting, according to a video posted on Facebook.
As of Wednesday, Mexican police had not apprehended any suspect in the case. It is believed there was more than one shooter. If arrested and convicted, the shooters face prison time. There is no death penalty in Mexico, even for homicides.
Based on initial reports, it is unclear why the two victims were targeted by the shooters. The casino is located about 26 miles from Yuma, Arizona.
In another Mexican state, Tamaulipas, also near the U.S. border, officials in 2018 are allowing legalized casino games to be returned. The games had been banned the year before due to the risk of crime.
Recent deadly casino shootings in the US
Overseas in the US, there have been several fatal shootings at casino complexes in recent months.
Last month, a fatal shooting occurred in the parking lot of a Wild Horse Pass casino in Arizona. Jonathan Lorenz of Queen Creek, Arizona allegedly shot at his ex-girlfriend and the man she was apparently dating. The incident took place in a tribal parking lot in Chandler on April 15.
The victim, identified as Philip Bachelder, 52, died shortly after the shot. Lorenz was later arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder and assault.
Earlier this month, a former employee shot three people in a restaurant at the Oneida Nation casino complex in Wisconsin before being killed by police .
Two of the people shot, Ian Simpson and Jacob Bartel, died of their injuries. A third person was seriously wounded by the shooter.
Mexican flights to Las Vegas
To make traveling to Las Vegas from Mexico easier, two Mexican cities will have new Frontier Airlines flights to Las Vegas McCarran International Airport starting this year. Flights from Mexico start in Los Cabos (in Baja California Sur) and Puerto Vallarta (in Jalisco, on the Pacific coast).
