Rare attack that killed a tourist at the Teotihuacan pyramids threatens Mexico’s image of safety weeks before the Fifa tournament
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenAssociated PressPublished: 2:06pm, 22 Apr 2026Updated: 2:06pm, 22 Apr 2026Mexico’s government said it was bolstering security at tourist sites after a man opened fire on tourists at pyramids outside Mexico City less than two months before the Fifa World Cup.
It also set off a flurry of questions the next morning by reporters to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum about what security protocols her government was taking ahead of the sports competition, which Mexico would jointly host with the United States and Canada over the summer.
The unexpected act of violence came as Sheinbaum’s government had gone to great lengths to project an image of safety ahead of the football competition, following a surge of cartel violence in February in the World Cup host city of Guadalajara.
On Tuesday, Sheinbaum acknowledged that the archaeological site lacked security filters to prevent the attack in part, she said, because the shooting “was an isolated incident” that has not occurred before in such a public space.
While Mexico suffers from cartel violence, especially in strategic and rural areas, mass shootings in public spaces were rare in Mexico compared to the US, where it was much easier to legally obtain a gun.
