Julio César Jasso Ramírez Kills Canadian Tourist in Shooting at Teotihuacán Pyramids

A gunman opened fire at Mexico’s Teotihuacán pyramids, killing one Canadian tourist and injuring others at the historic archaeological site outside Mexico City, authorities said.

“Deadly shooting at Teotihuacan pyramids leaves tourist dead, several injured A terrifying scene unfolded at one of Mexico’s most popular tourist destinations as gunfire erupted near the Teotihuacan pyramids”

41NBC News

The attack happened on Monday, shortly after 11:30 a.m. local time, when dozens of tourists were at the top of the Pyramid of the Moon, according to the State of Mexico and reporting cited by Al Jazeera.

41NBC News

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the incident “deeply pains us” and promised a thorough investigation, while the site was closed in the wake of the shooting and was set to reopen on Wednesday with reinforced security.

The gunman later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after a standoff with police and troops, with Mexican officials describing the attack as carried out alone.

Authorities said they recovered a firearm, a knife and live cartridges at the scene, and CNN reported that the security cabinet said the shooter was named by the State of Mexico Prosecutor’s Office as Julio César Jasso Ramírez.

Different outlets reported different injury totals: CNN said at least 13 people were injured, while PBS said six other people were injured, and Al Jazeera said at least 13 others were injured.

Investigators said the gunman fired multiple times from atop the pyramid, and videos and photos published by local outlets showed people ducking for cover as shots rang out.

Mexican authorities identified the gunman as 27-year-old Julio César Jasso Ramírez, a Mexican national, and said he acted alone.

BBC reported that Mexico’s top prosecutor said Jasso Ramírez planned and carried out the attack alone, and that he fatally shot himself after a standoff with police.

ABC7 Chicago

CNN likewise said prosecutors indicated he acted alone, and it quoted the State of Mexico Prosecutor’s Office naming him as Julio César Jasso Ramírez.

Multiple outlets described the materials found with him: NBC News said officials recovered a firearm, a bladed weapon, and live cartridges at the scene, while CNN said authorities seized a firearm, a bladed weapon and live cartridges.

ABC7 Chicago reported that security officials found a gun, a knife and ammunition at the scene, and NPR said security officials found a gun, a knife and ammunition as well.

Investigators also said he carried items that referenced violence, including literature and handwritten notes, with BBC quoting José Luis Cervantes Martínez, attorney general of the State of Mexico, saying authorities found “literature, images and documents allegedly related to acts of violence that ... may have occurred in the United States in April 1999.”

CNN added that the attacker wrote in some notes that he “was going to carry out the act, and that he drew inspiration from beyond Earth,” while NPR said investigators built “a psychopathic profile” characterized by “a tendency to copy situations that occurred in other places, at other times and involving other figures.”

Officials said the gunman carried material related to the 1999 Columbine High School massacre and that he appeared influenced by violent incidents abroad.

“A gunman has shot dead a Canadian woman and left at least 13 others injured at Mexico’s Teotihuacan pyramids, a popular tourist and archaeological site outside of Mexico City, authorities say”

Al Jazeera

BBC reported that Cervantes Martínez said the gunman carried documents that referenced the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in the US, and it quoted Cervantes Martínez saying “Among his belongings, authorities also found ... literature, images and documents allegedly related to acts of violence that ... may have occurred in the United States in April 1999.”

NBC News said investigators recovered literature referencing acts of violence and that the gunman fired multiple times, killing a Canadian woman and injuring six other people.

ABC7 Chicago said authorities referred to books and handwritten notes that referenced attacks in the United States in April 1999, and it described Monday as the 27th anniversary of the massacre in Colorado.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Mexican authorities called the 27-year-old gunman a “copycat” influenced by school shootings, and it said authorities described him as obsessed with the Columbine High School massacre.

CNN reported that the attacker carried a backpack containing ammunition, a “bladed weapon,” and images and handwritten notes “related to violent incidents known to have occurred in the United States in April 1999.”

NPR added that the gunman carried a photo modified by artificial intelligence showing him alongside the Columbine attackers, citing a state official speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Mexican leaders and foreign officials reacted quickly, linking the attack to broader security concerns for tourism and major events.

Sheinbaum said the attack “deeply pains us” and promised a thorough investigation, while she also said the site would reopen on Wednesday with reinforced security and that she ordered strengthened security at archaeological and tourist sites nationwide, including metal detectors at Teotihuacán entrances.

BBC

BBC reported that Sheinbaum said there are no security checkpoints at archaeological sites and that she ordered strengthened security at both archaeological and tourist sites nationwide, including the installation of metal detectors at the entrances of Teotihuacán and other sites.

CNN quoted Sheinbaum saying “What happened today in Teotihuacán deeply hurts us. I express my most sincere solidarity with the people affected and their families. We are in contact with the Canadian Embassy,” and it said Mexico’s Foreign Ministry was also in contact with other embassies.

Canada’s foreign affairs minister Anita Anand called it “a horrific act of gun violence,” and DW reported that Sheinbaum wrote on X that she expressed “I express my sincerest solidarity to the people affected and their families,” while also saying federal and state security forces were deployed.

NBC News said Sheinbaum promised a thorough investigation and that authorities said the site has been secured following the incident.

Witness accounts described panic and targeted fear, with Al Jazeera quoting a tour guide saying “Some people, because they were scared … threw themselves face down on the ground, and the rest of us started to go down,” and it said another group lay motionless to avoid being targeted.

Coverage of the Teotihuacán shooting diverged on key figures and on how officials framed the incident’s meaning.

“A Canadian woman was killed and six Americans were among the more than a dozen wounded after a gunman opened fire at Mexico’s Teotihuacán pyramids, a popular tourist hotspot, on Monday, authorities said”

CNN

NBC News said the gunman killed one person and injured several others, and it stated that investigators say the gunman fired multiple times, killing a Canadian woman and injuring six other people.

CNN

BBC reported that a Canadian woman was killed and 13 others were injured, and it described the incident as “one of the deadliest industrial accidents” in Bangladesh—an unrelated phrase in that story’s text—while still giving the Teotihuacán injury count of 13.

CNN said a Canadian woman was killed and six Americans were among the more than a dozen wounded, and it reported that at least 13 people were injured during the attack, with eight still hospitalized late Monday.

PBS said the shooter killed one Canadian tourist and injuring six other people, and it added that four people were wounded by gunshots and two more were injured from falls.

Al Jazeera said the gunman shot dead a Canadian woman and left at least 13 others injured, and it also said the State of Mexico said seven of the injured victims had been shot and others had suffered from falls.

The outlets also differed in how they described the gunman’s actions and the timeline, with BBC describing his arrival and scaling and CNN describing the 11:20 a.m. notification and National Guard arrival ten minutes later.

The shooting immediately triggered security and tourism measures tied to Mexico’s upcoming World Cup preparations, with officials describing both reinforced site security and broader national steps.

BBC said Teotihuacán was closed in the wake of the shooting and would reopen on Wednesday with reinforced security, and it reported that Sheinbaum ordered strengthened security at both archaeological and tourist sites nationwide, including the installation of metal detectors at the entrances of Teotihuacán and other sites.

CNN said the shooting comes as Mexico faces scrutiny over public security, weeks before it is set to welcome millions of visitors for the World Cup, and it reported that the Mexican security cabinet said the alleged aggressor fired a weapon at National Guard members and that they returned fire.

ABC7 Chicago said the attack happened less than two months before Mexico co-hosts the 2026 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament and quoted Sheinbaum saying “Yesterday's attack highlights the urgent need to strengthen our security protocols.”

NPR said Mexico’s security secretary Omar García Harfuch told reporters that major tourist destinations would see a heightened presence of both ground forces and digital “cyber patrols” to prevent threats, and it quoted Sheinbaum saying the importance of analyzing “external influences.”

Al Jazeera said Sheinbaum wrote that she instructed the Security Cabinet to thoroughly investigate these events and provide all necessary support, and it said personnel from the Secretariat of the Interior and Culture were heading to the site.

The consequences also extended to the injured and their nationalities, with CNN listing six Americans, three Colombians, one Russian, one Brazilian, one Dutch national and one Canadian among those taken to hospitals.