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| Alejandra Villanueva Ibarra, Denver Colorado, trampled to death |
Reports from the ground and in the media are insisting the shooting was cartel related. Authorities say it is the work of a lone gunman. Details are slow to be forthcoming. Including the number of dead, between 5 and 8, and the number injured, between 12 and 18.
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| Injured American Heather Parham |
College student Alejandra Villanueva Ibarra, 18 from Denver, was trampled to death in the chaos following the outbreak of gunfire.
“She was talking about how she was having so much fun and can’t wait to come back home and tell us everything about her vacation,” her brother told the DailyMail of their phone conversation just a couple hours before his sister's death.
Alejandra was in Mexico taking a break from working hard in college, as well as looking after two younger siblings when she was tragically killed.
Festival organizer Kirk Wilson, (below) who is originally from Canada, is believed to have been killed along with three security guards, according to local reports.
Beautiful Playa del Carmen, has long been considered one of the most popular and safe places for tourists to visit in Mexico. The last thing authorities want is bad press that would hinder tourism. Residents of Playa del Carmen have placed flowers, candles and cartulina (poster) signs outside the Blue Parrot nightclub, reading 'Peace in Playa', 'No more pistols', and translated from Spanish;
“'Enough already, so much corruption and impunity'.
A Houston man, Ignacio Valencia, who was shot in both arms while trying to escape, had been hanging out with Alejandra after meeting her at the festival, he wrote this on his Facebook page:
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| click image to enlarge |
Trip Advisor and other travel websites, lists the Blue Parrot as one of the best in Playa del Carmen for “nightlife”.
