Four Dead After Shooting at BPM Festival
The BPM Festival, a 10-day celebration of electronic dance music in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, was rocked by tragedy on its final day. This morning, four people were killed and another 12 were injured in front of the Blue Parrot nightclub.
In a statement in both English and Spanish, the news was delivered on the festival's Facebook page. It began, "It is with great sadness to share that police have confirmed reports of a lone shooter outside the Blue Parrot nightclub in Playa Del Carmen earlier today, which resulted in four fatalities and twelve injured. The violence began on 12th street in front of the club and three members of the BPM security team were among those whose lives were lost while trying to protect patrons inside the venue."
"The BPM Festival has been working closely with the local authorities (Seguridad Publica / Policia Turistica) throughout the festival to ensure public safety and security for all visitors," the statement continued."We are overcome with grief over this senseless act of violence and we are cooperating fully with local law enforcement and government officials as they continue their investigation. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the victims and their families and all those affected by these tragic events."
Valerie Lee of Mixmag, a magazine devoted to clubbing culture, told the Guardian, ”We were there for maybe 20 minutes when we heard four to five shots. Everyone was kind of processing it for a second then people starting running away from the main entrance towards the back. There is a large cement wall so we kind of crouched underneath waiting to see what was happening. People started saying it was just fireworks. But shortly after other people came running through the area and said they had seen someone with a gun.”
She added that she hid under a metal table for about five minutes, at which point she was able to leave the club via a back door and make her way to the street, where she encountered eyewitnesses crying.
Reports do not suggest that the shooter has been apprehended. The state government will hold a press conference on the tragedy later today.
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