An American family came under attack by gunmen in Mexico on Saturday night, leaving three wounded and one 13-year-old boy dead.
The attack happened just south of the Texas border with Mexico, where the family was traveling in a Chevrolet SUV with Oklahoma state plates on a highway that runs from the city of Mier to Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, which is located just across the U.S.-Mexico border.
The identities of the victims have not been made public, but the attorney general’s office confirmed that the parents were permanent residents of the United States and that the child had U.S. nationality.
The highway runs across areas disputed by several criminal syndicates like the Zetas and the Gulf Cartel and is considered a high-risk area.
The Nov. 4 shootout in Mexico left at least nine American citizens dead.
The slain victims were all members of the LeBaron family, American citizens who have lived near the United States-Mexico border for decades.
The victims included three women, four small children, and two infants, family member Alex LeBaron said at the time. He said all nine were dual U.S.-Mexican citizens.
The victims were "all shot while in vehicles while driving," LeBaron told CNN. Several children survived the attack.
Mexican Security Minister Alfonso Durazo said the attack could have been a case of mistaken identity of "conflicting groups in the area."