A cartel attack in the Mexican state of Sonora left ten civilians dead, “including three mothers and their young children,” when they were on their way to a wedding, AZ Central reports.
The victims lived in a Mormon community and were en route from Bavispe to LaBaron, Chihuahua for a wedding, when their three cars were suddenly attacked by cartel members with heavy gunfire, causing one of the cars to explode. The explosion killed one of the mothers and all four of her children, including a 10-year-old, an 8-year-old, and two 4-month-old twins.
In addition to the fatalities, the occupants of the other two vehicles – including another woman, nine children, and a cousin with an infant – were kidnapped by the attackers after the first vehicle exploded.
Among the survivors who escaped were a teenage boy who fled the scene and hid several of the younger children behind a tree nearby, before returning to the family’s home. A baby was also found alive in one of the other vehicles.
In response to the attack, authorities in both Sonora and Chihuahua launched investigations, which includes involvement from municipal and state police, the attorney general’s office, and the military. The Governor of Sonora, Claudia Pavlovich Arellano, released a statement vowing that “this [will] not go unpunished and those responsible [will] pay.”