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Tourists ran for cover after a man was shot and killed on the beach outside of a luxury five-star resort in Cancun.

The victim, identified by authorities as a 30-year-old Mexican national, was shot midday on Wednesday at Playa Caracol, in front of the Riu Palace Las Americas hotel on Kukulcán Boulevard, the beach area and hotel zone of Cancun, by at least two gunmen.

After the men fired multiple shots, they fled the scene on jet skis. Paramedics confirmed the shooting victim was dead at the scene, while a boat was sent out to search for the jet skis used in the escape.

A spokesperson from RIU Hotels, which owns several properties along the strip, told The Independent the victim was not a guest at Riu Palace Las Americas.

“Our team immediately activated the security and emergency protocols, working closely with the municipal and state authorities to provide timely attention to the injured person, who is not a guest from RIU,” they said.

“No guests or staff members were affected by this unfortunate event.

“We continue to communicate and cooperate fully with the appropriate authorities to support in any necessary way to ensure the safety of all our guests and employees.

“We reiterate our commitment to the safety and well-being of our guests, employees and the community.”

As the shots rang out, terrified tourists and holidaymakers ran for cover inside the surrounding hotels, with viral footage showing people in swimwear crowding into the reception of the nearby Riu Palace Las Americas hotel.

The Attorney General’s Office of the State of Quintana Roo (FGEQROO) said in a statement to Turquesa News that it has initiated a series of investigations into a qualified homicide that occurred on Wednesday morning in the beach area of ​​Cancun.

The attorney general’s office added in an update on X on Wednesday that “the deceased on Kukulcán Boulevard would be related to the deprivation of the life of a minor that occurred near that place, on July 28”.

The shooting in July resulted in the death of a local 12-year-old boy who was killed on a beach in Cancun by a stray bullet shot by gunmen who arrived on jet skis.

Mexican prosecutors believe that the men were targeting a rival drug dealer on the beach after apparently being engaged in a dispute over drug sales.

It is unclear how the two shootings are related.

After the shooting on Wednesday, personnel from the local prosecutor’s office, the Navy, the National Defense Secretariat, the National Guard and the Tourist Police, all arrived at the scene to start their investigation.

The state law enforcement agency considered that drug trafficking-related crimes, such as drug dealing, could be the main line of investigation in this case, Turquesa News reported.

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