TEOTIHUACÁN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE — A 27-year-old gunman opened fire on tourists at the Pyramid of the Moon at the Teotihuacán archaeological site just after 11:30 a.m. on April 20, 2026, killing a Canadian visitor and injuring 13 other foreign tourists before shooting himself dead near the top of the pyramid as police and troops approached. Mexican authorities identified the attacker as Julio César Jasso Ramírez and said he acted alone with no indication of outside participation.

The injured included six Americans, three Colombians, one Russian, two Brazilians and one Canadian, all of whom were hospitalized. Seven of those wounded had been shot. The youngest victim was six years old and the oldest was 61. Authorities recovered 58 rounds of unused ammunition at the scene. Jasso carried a .38 Special Smith & Wesson revolver dating from 1968 and a knife.

"The shooter had the profile of a 'psychopath' and 'copycat' who sought to mimic the homicidal actions of mass shooters," said José Luis Cervantes, district attorney for the State of Mexico. Investigators said Jasso admired mass shooters and was influenced by foreign school shootings, including the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, literature about which was found in his backpack. He was also found with an AI-generated image showing him posing with Columbine shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. April 20 is both Adolf Hitler's birthday and the anniversary of the Columbine attack.

"Everything indicates that this person had traits of psychological problems, and was influenced by episodes that have occurred outside Mexico," President Claudia Sheinbaum said. She called for tighter gun controls at tourist sites following the attack.

Jasso took an Uber to the site and had stayed at a nearby hotel while planning the assault, scouting the area over several days and visiting the complex multiple times beforehand. In February 2026, he contacted Hotel Villa Meztli, three miles from the site, to reserve a room between April 8 and April 20. Investigators said his hotel room contained a picture depicting the view from the Pyramid of the Moon, which he studied to plot the shooting, along with notes in which he wrote thoughts about being superior.

The Teotihuacán archaeological site was closed on Tuesday and was set to reopen on Wednesday with enhanced security. The complex is 2,000 years old and was abandoned centuries before the rise of the Aztec empire.