- At least nine members of a Mormon community in Mexico were killed in an ambush on Monday while driving between the Chihuahua and Sonora states.
- The dead include three women and six children, the youngest being 8-month-old twins.
- There's been no indication of who is responsible for the attack. Two members of the same community were murdered a decade ago after a confrontation with local drug gang members.
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Gunmen have killed up to nine members of a US Mormon family, believed to be mainly children, in the latest massacre to afflict Mexico, family members said.
The victims belonged to the LeBarón family, members of a Mormon community who settled in northern Mexico in the 1920s and separated from the mainstream church when it abandoned polygamous marriages.
Two relatives Alex and Julian LeBaron told Reuters nine people had died, though a government source only confirmed five.
Relative Kendra Lee Miller identified the victims toNBC Newsas Rhonita Miller, 30; Christina Marie Langford Johnson, 29; Dawna Langford, 43; Trevor Langford, 11; Rogan Langford, 2; Howard Miller, 12; Krystal Miller, 10; and 8-month-old twins Titus and Tiana Miller.
It was unclear what motivated the killings, which took place on Monday as the group of women and children were traveling in a caravan between the Chihuahua and Sonora states.
A video posted on social media showed the charred and smoking remains of a vehicle riddled with bullet holes that was apparently carrying the victims when the attack happened.
There was no immediate indication of who was behind the attack.
Julian LeBaron described the incident as a "massacre," saying some family members were burnt alive. In a text message, he said other injured members of the family were being transported to Phoenix, Arizona, for treatment.
8 family members survived, including 2 children who fled into the countryside
There were eight survivors, family members told NBC News. At least two children who fled the attack were lost for hours in the countryside before being found.
In 2010, two members of the Chihuahua Mormon community, including one from the LeBaron family, were killed after confronting drug gangs that have de facto control over the region. The Mormons had suffered widespread kidnappings before that.
Mexico has been hit by awave of attacks in recent weeks, shocking even for a country inured to a decade ofdrug war violence. The most notable incident was a军事化组织进攻,迫使戈夫rnment to release a leader of the Sinaloa Cartelin October.
Chihuahua and Sonora state governments issued a joint statement saying an investigation had been launched and that some people were presumed dead and others missing. The statement noted additional federal and local security forces were being sent into the area near the border between the two Mexican states, but did not provide further details.
US Ambassador to Mexico Christopher Landau, who traveled to Sonora earlier on Monday for unrelated work meetings, said he was following the incident closely.
"The security of our co-nationals is our great priority," he said on Twitter.
