It looks like a typical tourist photo, as British Columbia woman Barbara Welsh and her friends smile near the foot of the famous Pyramid of the Moon at the Teotihuacan site northeast of Mexico City on Monday.

But in the background, clambering the pyramid’s stairs, a man in a checked shirt can be seen, carrying something in his right hand.

Moments later, he pulled out a gun and started shooting, sending people tumbling down the pyramid.

Officials have said they are working to understand the motive of the shooter, who reportedly planned the attack, played strange music, ranted about hating tourists and fired randomly.

“We didn’t really know what it was,” Welsh said of hearing first shots. 

“And then we heard another one and then I looked up and it was like a waterfall of people just rolling down the Pyramid of the Moon.”

Welsh said their private guide screamed at the group of seven B.C. women to run as soon as the gunfire sounded, and they took off toward the parking lot. Within five minutes, she said the group had boarded the tour van and the driver was fleeing the site. They could still hear the shooting from the van.

“We could still hear the shots as we were getting out of there. They went on for like over 20 minutes,” she said. 

Officials have confirmed a Canadian woman was killed and at least 13 other visitors were hurt in the attack. The injured were in stable condition, officials said. 

The Security Cabinet of Mexico identified the one Canadian taken to the hospital as 29-year-old Delicia Li de Yong. It said the other injured people were from the United States, Russia, the Netherlands and Brazil. The youngest was a six-year-old boy from Colombia.

The identity of the Canadian woman who was killed has not yet been disclosed.

Who Was the Shooter?

Authorities identified the attacker as 27-year-old Julio Cesar Jasso Ramirez, a native of Guerrero, Mexico, who they said arrived in Teotihuacan a day earlier in an Uber and stayed in a hotel.

Then on Monday shortly before noon, while atop the Pyramid of the Moon, he began firing at tourists with an old revolver while holding a plastic bag containing 52 .38-calibre cartridges in his other hand, said Jose Luis Cervantes Martinez, the attorney general of the state of Mexico, which includes Teotihuacan.

The assailant, who acted alone, shot and killed himself, authorities said, and security officials found a gun, a knife and ammunition at the scene. Security officials found a gun, a knife and ammunition at the scene.

Officials were also working to understand the motive of the shooter, who reportedly planned the attack, played strange music and ranted about hating tourists. 

The government said the gunman had books and notes about an April 1999 gun attack in the United States, a reference to the shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado in which 12 students and a teacher were killed. 

One of the seized items was a photo modified by artificial intelligence that depicts the gunman alongside the Columbine attackers, according to a state official who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to address the media.

Monday was the 27th anniversary of the school massacre.

Ramped Up Security

Mexico bumped up security at multiple tourist sites on Tuesday following the attack.

“Yesterday’s attack highlights the urgent need to strengthen our security protocols,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said. She also said it’s important to analyze “external influences” that may provoke such violence within the country.

Mexico co-hosts the 2026 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament in less than two months. Omar García Harfuch, Mexico’s security secretary, said major tourist destinations would see a heightened presence of both ground forces and digital “cyber patrols” to prevent threats.

Possible Tourism Impact

In Ottawa, Prime Minister Mark Carney thanked Sheinbaum for her attention to the tragedy and offered condolences to the family and friends of the victim.

“It’s a sad day … it’s a terrible circumstance,” Carney said. “We’re working with Mexican authorities.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, asked whether Ottawa would be revising its travel advisory for Mexico, said the countries are in close contact. “At this time, we are examining all issues relating to the bilateral relationship.”

The Teotihuacan pyramids, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are considered one of Mexico’s most important tourist destinations. The site drew more than 1.8 million international visitors last year, according to government figures.

Canadian tourism is big business for Mexico, second only to visits by Americans.

McKenzie McMillan, a travel consultant with Vancouver-based Travel Group, said flights to Mexico make up to between 25 and 30 percent of the agency’s winter bookings.

It’s unlikely the shooting in Mexico will have an impact on other Canadians planning to visit the area, he said. Teotihuacan is usually an excursion for tourists visiting Mexico City and is considered safe. 

There was concern in February, when tourists were stranded in the coastal resort town of Puerto Vallarta, as drug gangs rampaged, burned cars, and blocked roads in revenge of the death of a cartel leader.

Anand warned Canadians then to be cautious about travelling to Mexico. Some airlines also cancelled flights to and from Puerto Vallarta.

“We definitely fielded a lot of calls about Puerto Vallarta when the situation there first happened,” said McMillan. “But it really died off quickly, and we found we didn’t end up getting any cancellations.”

He said the pyramid shooting was very tragic, but will likely not deter visitors.

“It really is a rare and very unfortunate situation, but Mexico is becoming increasingly safe, especially in those larger cities.”

Source: Travelweek and The Canadian Press
Lead image caption: Barbara Welsh (second from right), pictured with a group of women from B.C., in front of the Teotihuacan Pyramids in Mexico on April 20, 2026. The group posed for this picture moments before a gunman, who can be seen at the top right of the stairs in a checked shirt and dark pants, opened fire. — CREDIT The Canadian Press/Handout – Barbara Welsh