Two Arizona women were killed when gunmen opened fire on their vehicle in the northern Mexican state of Sonora on Friday morning, Mexican authorities said.
The victims, ages 72 and 82 and originally from the Sonora town of Caborca, were found dead in an overturned, bullet-riddled white Nissan Pathfinder at about 10:30 a.m. on the Sonoyta-Caborca highway, the Sonora District Attorney’s Office said. said in a press release.
Sonora District Attorney’s Office
Mexican authorities conducted a search and located a vehicle believed to be linked to the suspects and described as a stolen Ford F150; it was found abandoned in the Sonoran city of Quitovac. In the vehicle, authorities found four firearms, dozens of rounds of ammunition and bulletproof vests, the DA’s office said.
Officials did not immediately provide a motive for the attack, although Sonora has seen several incidents of cartel violence in recent years.
In June 2023, a Ph.D. student from California was found dead in an SUV in Sonorashot seven times, after disappearing while driving across the border to conduct horticultural research.
In March, Sonora prosecutors said seven bodies were found near the town of Puerto Peñasco, on the Gulf of California. The victims were all men dressed in military style and had all been shot to death.