A Chicago teenager is in a coma and three of his family members are dead after the group was shot at while vacationing in Mexico last week, according to the U.S. State Department and local reports.
Without naming the victims, a U.S. State Department spokesperson confirmed to USA TODAY Thursday that two U.S. citizens were killed and a minor was injured in the north-central Mexican state of Durango.
The 14-year-old has been identified as Jason Peña, according to nonprofit organizer Julie Contreras, who is working closely with his family.
On Friday, the teen was in Durango with his father, 38-year-old Vicente Peña Jr., his uncle, 44-year-old Antonio “Tony” Fernandez and another family member who lives in Mexico, 22-year-old Jorge Eduardo Vargas Aguirre. All three men died in the shooting, according to local media.
The family had traveled there to celebrate the teen’s birthday, reported television stations WMAQ-TV and WLS-TV. The 14-year-old has been placed in a medically-induced coma.
Citing local authorities, WMAQ-TV said the family was in an SUV with Illinois license plates when someone attacked the group. It was not immediately clear Thursday morning what motivated the attack.
Durango officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment and neither did Contreras, founder of the nonprofit working with the family.
The U.S. State Department said it has been in touch with the victims’ families and Mexican authorities are conducting an investigation.
“When a U.S. citizen dies abroad, the Department provides consular assistance to the legal representative, next-of-kin, and family,” the agency said in a statement to USA TODAY. “Depending on the situation, this can include contacting and informing the next-of-kin of the death, (or) providing information on options for local burial or the return of the remains to the United States.”
The department also helps prepare a Consular Report of Death of a U.S. citizen abroad, the agency said.
Grandfather calls shooting ‘a massacre’
The boy’s grandfather, Vicente Peña, spoke to WMAQ-TV in Spanish and said the shooting has wrecked their family.
“I feel very devastated because they wiped out my entire family,” he told the outlet. “It was a massacre….because my son was shot four times in the head and once in the shoulder.”
The teenager’s maternal grandmother, Maria Elena Hernandez, also spoke to the outlet with the help of a translator and said the family wants justice.
“My child is a studious child,” his grandmother said. “He is studying boxing. Thank God he will not leave us now, but they will not provide insurance for him anymore.”
WMAQ-TV, spoke to Contreras, who founded a nonprofit called United Giving Hope. The nonprofit helps those with active immigration cases across the U.S., Mexico, Central America, South America and other countries.
Contreras did not immediately reply to USA TODAY’s requests for comment but spoke to both WMAQ-TV and WLS-TV. Her organization is helping the family bring the teen and his family members back to the U.S.
“As you can only imagine this is a nightmare for his mother,” Contreras told WLS-TV. “Right now what we’re trying to do is provide that advocacy and security.”
Local authorities told the outlet the attack is just the latest among an increase in violent crime in the area.
In the statement to USA TODAY, the U.S. State Department said “Durango, Mexico has a Level 2 Exercise Increased Caution Travel advisory due to crime.”
Durango Public Security officials announced on Dec. 6 that under Governor Esteban Villegas Villarreal’s leadership, Durango has become “a safe and developing state” and is “considered among the five most peaceful in the country,” citing the Mexico Peace Index 2024.
According to the department, 67,545 crime prevention and deterrence actions were carried out this past year.
“Durango has become a national benchmark for security, which is reflected in new investments and increased tourism, where visitors feel safe, a fundamental factor for economic development and the well-being of the population,” the department wrote.
The department added that 258 women who had previously been reported missing were found, citing a 96% success rate in locating them.
Jason Peña, the teenager and sole survivor of Friday’s incident in Durango, leaves behind a little brother, Contreras told news outlets.
His family hopes to bury his father and his uncle in Chicago in two weeks.
