The gunman who opened fire atop Mexico's ancient Pyramid of the Moon appeared to have been influenced by other violent shootings and showed signs of psychological problems, the country's president said on Tuesday.
Julio César Jasso Ramírez, 27, a Mexican national, carried a handgun, dozens of cartridges, a knife and literature referencing acts of violence, officials said on Tuesday.
Mexico's top prosecutor said Jasso Ramírez planned and carried out the attack alone. The gunman fatally shot himself after a standoff with police.
A Canadian woman was killed and 13 others were injured at the popular tourist site northwest of Mexico City.
EPAInvestigators patrol the area of the Pyramid of the Moon in Mexico on 21 April 2026 after a fatal shooting at the archaeological site."Based on everything indicated by the prosecutorial authorities, this person showed signs of psychological problems and was influenced by incidents that occurred abroad," President Claudia Sheinbaum said during a Tuesday media conference.
The gunman carried documents that apparently referenced the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in the US, according to José Luis Cervantes Martínez, attorney general of the State of Mexico, which is home to the Teotihuacán pyramid complex.
"Among his belongings, authorities also found ... literature, images and documents allegedly related to acts of violence that ... may have occurred in the United States in April 1999," he said.
A tourist who witnessed the shooting told Reuters news agency that visitors heard Jasso Ramirez refer to the notorious Columbine shooting, which took place exactly 27 years prior.
During the media conference, Cervantes and Mexican authorities said that Jasso Ramírez had repeatedly visited the archaeological site - about 50km (31 miles) from Mexico City - and arrived there on Monday just before noon local time.
"This act was not spontaneous," said Cervantes Martínez.
After the gunman scaled the ancient pyramid, he began shooting from one of its platforms. Videos recorded by tourists there showed the gunman making threats as visitors tried to make their way to safety. Several shots are heard; a 32-year-old Canadian tourist was shot dead in the incident.
A National Guard member and a municipal police officer who were called to the scene scaled the pyramid to corner him, said Cervantes Martínez, Mexico's top prosecutor.
The gunman fired 14 times at the victims and the responding officers, and was shot in the leg by the national guardsman as they attempted to immobilise him, Cervantes Martínez said. Then Jasso Ramirez took his own life.
Thirteen people, ranging from six to 61, were treated in hospital after being injured in the incident. Seven of them were wounded by gunshots, two of whom are minors from Colombia and Brazil.
EPAPolice officers and forensic experts secure the area where a shooting occurred at the Teotihuacan archaeological site in Mexico, 20 April 2026.Teotihuacán, the collection of ancient, pre-Hispanic pyramids and temples and listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site, was closed in the wake of the shooting.
The site, which attracted about 1.8mn visitors last year, will reopen on Wednesday with reinforced security, Sheinbaum said.
Sheinbaum, who noted that there are no security checkpoints at archaeological sites, ordered strengthened security at both archaeological and tourist sites nationwide, including the installation of metal detectors at the entrances of Teotihuacán and other sites.
Looking ahead to the summer's World Cup football matches, Sheinbaum vowed to guarantee safety during the global football event, which kicks off on 11 June in Mexico City. The president said that she met with organisers at FIFA to discuss logistics.
"It is safe to be in Mexico," she added, noting that 16 million foreign visitors arrived between January and February.
