Two Dead, Guests Briefly Forced Into Hiding After Gang-Related Shooting Unfolds Near Cancun Hotel

Emergency responders arrived at the Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun Resort on Thursday afternoon, following reports of an active shooter who allegedly approached the Quintana Roo, Mexico, resort from the beach.

Two individuals suspected to have ties to drug trafficking gangs were killed following a firefight between rival gangs, according to a statement from the government of Quintana Roo. Although the deaths have not been officially linked to the incident, it is said to have occurred in a beach area near Cancun.

La @FGEQuintanaRoo informa que se registró un enfrentamiento entre integrantes de grupos antagónicos de narcomenudistas en una playa de Bahía Petempich, Puerto Morelos. Dos de ellos perdieron la vida en el lugar. No hay heridos de gravedad.

Información en proceso ⚠️

— Fiscalía General QR (@FGEQuintanaRoo) November 4, 2021

A preliminary report from local security personnel also noted that one individual was whisked away from the Azul Beach resort by boat after a group of armed men arrived at the complex. At least one individual was injured in the attack.

Emergency lockdown efforts have now ended at the Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun Resort, according to video footage uploaded by Mike Sington, a former NBC Universal executive who documented the process in a Twitter thread.

Guests are now being held in the resort's lobby, although no further instruction has been provided, according to Sington.

All guests and employees taken out of hiding now and brought to lobby. Active shooter at Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun Resort. Still no update from hotel. People are hugging each other and crying. pic.twitter.com/AqbYms3AUb

— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) November 4, 2021

Employees and guests of the Hyatt resort were previously ordered to go into hiding at various locations within the property.

Sington noted that not much was initially communicated during the emergency process.

Still hiding in a dark room deep in the hotel. Other guests told me they heard gunfire. Resort is secluded, was told gunman came up from the beach. Hotel employees hugging each other. pic.twitter.com/7Vv16Y7Zts

— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) November 4, 2021

Amid the lockdown, those with loved ones vacationing at the resort took to social media in an effort to find answers.

"I am on call with the US Embassy. If anyone can help, my husband and several others are at the Hyatt Ziva in Cancun," tweeted Montana resident Andrew Krop. "Men with guns stormed the beach and started shooting."

The US Embassy in Mexico has since confirmed that officials are looking into the active shooter reports.

This is not the first time tragedy has struck a Cancun beach this year.

Two men were killed and one American tourist was injured back in June, after gunmen opened fire on Playa Tortugas and fled on jet skis. Witnesses say the two men who were killed were handicraft vendors.