Authorities say the attacker opened fire from the Pyramid of the Moon, leaving one Canadian tourist dead before he also died at the site.
TEOTIHUACÁN, Mexico — A gunman opened fire from the Pyramid of the Moon at the Teotihuacán archaeological zone on Monday, killing a Canadian tourist, injuring 13 other visitors and setting off panic at one of Mexico’s best known historic sites before the attacker also died there.
The attack drew immediate attention in Mexico and abroad because violence of that kind is rare at a major tourist landmark that receives large daily crowds. Authorities identified the gunman as Julio César Jasso, 27, and said he acted alone, but they had not publicly explained a motive by late Monday. Officials said the injured included foreign tourists from the United States, Colombia, Brazil, Russia and Canada. The archaeological zone was closed indefinitely as prosecutors, security officials and cultural authorities began reconstructing the timeline, reviewing how the man entered with weapons and deciding what security changes may follow.
The public timeline began a little after 11:30 a.m., when visitors and guides at the site said they heard what first sounded like firecrackers from the upper platform of the Pyramid of the Moon. A tour guide who spoke to The Associated Press said the shooter began firing at tourists near him on the platform and at others who were already moving down the steps. As people realized the noise was gunfire, some dropped flat on the stone surface, while others rushed toward the staircase and open plaza below. The guide said another group stayed motionless on the platform to avoid drawing attention. A Canadian visitor, Brenda Lee, later said she and others were waiting near souvenir stands when the sound spread across the site. Someone yelled that the noise was gunfire and people began running, she said, while others jumped from above in panic. In minutes, a routine day of sightseeing at an ancient monument became a scene of confusion, fear and scattered shelter among the ruins.
As authorities released more details, the scale of the attack became clearer. State officials said 13 people were injured, and seven of them suffered gunshot wounds. The wounded included six Americans, three Colombians, one Canadian, two Brazilians and one Russian. Officials said one of the Colombians was a 6-year-old boy who was shot twice in the right leg, striking the tibia and fibula. Reuters reported that witnesses saw bystanders, including people with medical training, using water bottles and clean cloth to help slow bleeding before paramedics arrived. Police assigned to security inside the site were the first responders, and National Guard personnel followed soon after. Authorities said weapons recovered at the scene included a firearm, a knife and ammunition. Prosecutors later said Jasso was the only attacker involved. Even so, several central facts remained unsettled by Monday night. Officials had not said how long he had been at the monument before opening fire, how he got the weapon inside, whether he chose victims at random or why he targeted the site.
The setting gave the shooting unusual weight. Teotihuacán, northeast of Mexico City, is one of the country’s most visited archaeological destinations and a UNESCO World Heritage site. UNESCO says the ancient city developed between the 1st and 7th centuries A.D. into one of the largest cities in the Americas, with the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon lining the Avenue of the Dead. Mexican officials said the site drew more than 1.8 million visitors last year. The Pyramid of the Moon had also only recently reopened in part to climbing visitors. In May 2025, Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History said visitors would again be allowed to ascend to the first level after conservation work and safety adjustments. That recent reopening added another layer to the questions raised Monday, because the attack unfolded on a structure that had been restored to public access under controlled conditions. AP reporters at the site said security staffing appeared light, with no metal detectors and no routine screening of visitors, details likely to become part of the official review.
The next stage is now investigative and procedural. State prosecutors said on social media that Jasso was the only assailant and said the cause of his death would be determined under standard protocols. Earlier accounts from officials and witnesses said he died after turning the gun on himself, but authorities had not publicly released a full forensic account by Monday night. That leaves several tracks for investigators: a ballistics review, autopsies, interviews with guides and injured tourists, a security breakdown of entry procedures and a reconstruction of the shooter’s movements on the pyramid. The archaeological zone will remain closed until further notice, according to the National Institute of Anthropology and History. That closure gives investigators control of a broad and sensitive scene that includes a major heritage site, tourist pathways, staircases, the upper platform and the plaza below. It also means officials must weigh two priorities at once, preserving evidence in a homicide case and protecting a monument that is both fragile and internationally known.
Public reaction moved quickly from shock to mourning. President Claudia Sheinbaum said what happened “pains us deeply” and said Mexican authorities were in contact with the Canadian Embassy. Canada’s foreign minister said one Canadian citizen had died and another had been hurt. U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson said he felt “deep concern” and said the United States stood ready to support affected citizens while Mexican authorities continued their investigation. On the ground, the tone was more immediate and personal. Lee said there were “thousands of people” at the site and that the shots seemed relentless as visitors tried to get away. Videos shared online showed a man firing from above while tourists hid behind stone walls and pre Hispanic structures or ran across the open space below. Those images helped explain why the attack landed so hard in Mexico and beyond. This was not a shooting in a hidden corner of a city. It was an act of violence at a place associated with school trips, tourism, archaeology and national heritage.
By Monday night, the known facts had hardened into a grim outline: one tourist dead, 13 people hurt, one suspect dead and one of Mexico’s most famous ruins shut down with no reopening date announced. The next major update is expected from prosecutors and cultural officials as they clarify the motive, the exact cause of the gunman’s death and whether security at Teotihuacán will change before the site opens again.
Author note: Last updated April 21, 2026.