A gunman who opened fire on crowds of tourists at the site of historic Mexican pyramids reportedly left behind a disturbing AI generated image showing himself with the Columbine school shooters.
The shooter, later identified as 27-year-old Julio Cesar Jasso of Mexico, wounded 13 people, including six Americans, and killed a Canadian woman, authorities confirmed.
The incident took place Monday around 11.30 a.m. at the Pyramid of the Moon at the Teotihuacán archeological site, some 30 miles north west of Mexico City.
Jasso was the only gunman and later died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities told The Associated Press.
Among the items found at the site was the AI photo, which appeared to show Jasso standing posing with Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the two teenage friends who killed 14 people and then themselves in the Colorado school shooting, according to Mexican outlet Telediario.
Monday’s incident took place on the 27th anniversary of the shooting, which occurred on April 20, 1999.
In the image Jasso is wearing a shirt that reads “Disconnect and Destruct,” a phrase that is connected to a violent subculture known as “The True Crime Community” which glorifies the massacre online,Telediario reports.
Pictures of Jasso performing the Nazi salute, which he has been known to do since he was young, were also found at the scene, alongside a gun and a knife, according to the outlet.
Videos of the incident shared online showed Jasso pacing around the pyramids, brandishing a handgun, while the tourists lay face down on the ground. In one clip he can be heard threatening to sacrifice European tourists at the 2000-year old site – which was historically used for that purpose.
Those taken to hospitals for treatment were six Americans, three Colombians, one Russian, two Brazilians and one Canadian, the local government said. The youngest person who was injured was 6; the oldest was 61, Mexican authorities said.
Brenda Lee, of Vancouver, British Columbia, said she was waiting to buy a souvenir when she and others in her group thought they heard firecrackers.
“Before we knew it, someone said, ‘No, that’s gunfire, run,’ and we saw people coming off the top,” she told CTV News, one of Canada’s national television broadcasters. “There were thousands of people there and there were a lot of gunshots that just kept coming.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum wrote on social media that the shooting would be investigated and that she was in touch with the Canadian Embassy.
“What happened today in Teotihuacán deeply pains us. I express my most sincere solidarity with the affected individuals and their families,” she wrote.
Anita Anand, Canada’s foreign affairs minister, said on X that as a “result of a horrific act of gun violence, a Canadian was killed and another wounded in Teotihuacán” and that her “thoughts are with their family and loved ones.”
The Teotihuacan pyramids, a Unesco world heritage site, are a series of massive structures on the outskirts of Mexico City built by three different ancient civilizations. As one of Mexico’s most important tourist destinations, the site drew more than 1.8 million international visitors last year, according to government figures.
The National Institute of Anthropology and History said in a statement that the Teotihuacán archaeological site will remain closed until further notice.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
