Bride watches horrified as groom is shot dead in tragic case of MISTAKEN IDENTITY
CABORCA, MEXICO: In a shocking incident, a groom was gunned down moments after his wedding in what has been described as a case of mistaken identity. Marco Antonio Rosales Contreras was leaving his wedding ceremony at Neustra Señora de La Candelaria church on Saturday, October 22 when he was struck several times, as per El Universal.
The incident occurred at 5 pm. Footage from the scene showed his wife, 30-year-old Aracely, being taken away from the church, her wedding dress stained with blood. According to the authorities, the gunmen may have targeted the wrong person.
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According to the New York Post, witnesses said the shots came from a single man who ran away down the street. The shooter remains unidentified, and the 32-year-old was not the actual target. A statement by the prosecutor's office read, "Investigations indicate that the attack against Marco Antonio was directed towards another individual who was also getting married at the same time in a different nearby city."
As per the investigators, another man was also shot at his wedding in a neighboring city on the same night. Antonio’s sister, Michelle Adriana, 23, was also shot in the back and was admitted to the hospital. She was released hours later.
On Sunday night, October 23, state officials announced that nothing has been ruled out. As per the Sonora Attorney General’s Office, Antonio’s killing was a “direct attack,” though they believe the bullets might've been intended for someone else.
Cartel violence is on the rise in Caborca, as local drug-trafficking rings engage in war against an armed branch of the Sinaloa Cartel.
In a separate incident, a California mother-of-four was killed in Mexico while on vacation with her sister, who was also left in critical condition. As per reports, Melissa Silva, 36, and her youngest sister, 16-year-old Arleth Silva, were on a holiday and went to watch a cock fight when a massacre happened just after 10.30 pm on Sunday night, March 27, taking the lives of 19 others.
Reports said a number of people were enjoying the cock fight in the Las Tranjas region of Michoacan, Mexico, when gunmen opened fire, fatally shooting seventeen men and three women, including Melissa. Her teenage sister, a student at Wheaton Warrenville South, was shot numerous times – once in the lungs, and twice in the legs.
The victims' brother, Alex Silva, said that their mother was close by when the massacre happened. “They were just ambushed. Everyone was shot. Everyone that was there. Once she showed up, she saw my sisters laying down,” he said, before adding, “It's pretty difficult. Just dealing with the funeral and everything -- having my sister in the hospital.”