A Seattle man recounted the chaos after a deadly shooting at a historic Mexican tourist site left one dead and more than a dozen injured.
SEATTLE — A Seattle man recalled the terrifying moments after witnessing a deadly shooting at one of Mexico’s most iconic tourist sites.
One person was killed and more than a dozen others were injured Monday morning when gunfire erupted near the Pyramid of the Moon, a historic landmark outside Mexico City.
Tim Chung, who was visiting from Seattle, said he was on a tour about 200 meters from the pyramid when the shooting began around 11 a.m.
“It’s hard to make sense how something like that could happen in a place so beautiful,” Chung said.
Chung had just taken a photo of the peaceful scene before chaos unfolded. He later recorded video showing people running down the pyramid steps, some jumping in an effort to escape.
“I could hear all these people starting to rush toward me, and I knew at that moment something bad is absolutely happening,” he said.
He described hearing multiple gunshots as panic spread through the area.
“A lot of screaming and just a lot of chaos,” Chung said. “About 20 seconds to a minute later, I was just standing there trying to see what’s going on, but I just hear all these gunshots.”
Chung and his tour group moved toward the nearby Pyramid of the Sun to put distance between themselves and the violence.
He said he then saw a large law enforcement response, including Mexican National Guard vehicles and helicopters.
“That’s when we saw the Mexican National Guard with their pickup trucks and machine guns hauling down the road,” Chung said. “That’s when we saw helicopters.”
Authorities said the suspect, a 27-year-old Mexican citizen, acted alone and was later found dead at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
A Canadian woman was killed in the shooting. Officials said more than a dozen people were injured, including at least seven who were shot.
Chung said the experience was deeply unsettling and expressed sympathy for those directly affected.
“What they just went through is not a normal situation, and I hope they get all the help and support that they need,” he said.
He added that the violence serves as a reminder that such incidents can happen anywhere.
“There’s mass shootings, there’s shootings in schools in the U.S. — it’s not just a Mexico problem,” Chung said. “I’m just glad that it wasn’t some big terrorist attack.”
What began as a trip to explore history is now something Chung said he will never forget.
“Traumatizing,” he said. “Something like this — you’ll never forget about it for the rest of your life.”
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