Mexican military has confirmed that at least nine members of an American family, including six children, were killed in an attack in northern Mexico. The family was ambushed by an armed group while traveling from the town of Galeana in Chichuahua state to Bavispe in Sonora state between 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. local time, according to Mexico’s security minister, Alfonso Durazo.
Durazo said at a press conference Tuesday morning that the area where the attack took place is less than 100 miles from the Arizona border, and is of territorial dispute by several cartels. Three women and six children were killed in the ambush. Six other children survived the massacre and were left injured, while another remains missing, according to Durazo.
The family members were U.S. citizens but lived in a Mormon community in the Mexican border state of Sonora, according to a relative, Leah Staddon, who was born and raised in the same community but now lives in Arizona. She said her family has lived in Mexico for decades and they are all dual citizens. On the morning of the attack, a group left the community in Bavispe to drive to a wedding in Chihuahua state, according to Staddon.
