Mexican president calls for tighter security after Canadian tourist killed and 13 wounded by gunman at famous Teotihuacan pyramids

Forensic experts and Red Cross personnel transporting a body at the Pyramid of the Moon in the Teotihuacan archaeological zone following a shooting in Teotihuacan, State of Mexico, on April 20, 2026. MEXICAN RED CROSS/ AFP

Mexican security officials said Tuesday, April 21, that a shooting at the world-famous Teotihuacan pyramids on Monday that left a Canadian tourist dead and 13 others wounded "was not spontaneous." The gunman killed himself after opening fire at the heavily visited destination in central Mexico, home to pre-Aztecan pyramids, according to a security official.

The shooter, identified as 27-year-old Julio Cesar Jasso Ramirez, "made preliminary visits on multiple occasions to the archeological site, stayed in hotels near the site ahead of time, and from there planned his violent acts," Mexico State Prosecutor Jose Luis Cervantes Martinez told reporters.

The shooting occurred on the Pyramid of the Moon, a 45-meter high monument visitors are allowed to climb using steep steps carved of volcanic rock. Six people were wounded by gunfire and taken to local hospitals, including a Canadian woman, a Colombian woman and child, a Brazilian and two Americans. Seven other people were injured in the scramble for safety and were treated at the scene after he opened fire.