A suspect has been arrested following the horrific massacre of nine Americans just south of the border on Monday. The three women and six children are part of a mormon community living near the Arizona border and were on their way to a wedding when they were gunned down.
Upon the suspect’s arrest, even more terror was unearthed about the cartel gunman. In a statement on Facebook, the Agency for Criminal Investigation said the suspect was apprehended in the town of Agua Prieta, a Mexican town immediately across the border from Douglas, Arizona.
Investigators found four assault rifles and two hostages who were bound and gagged, inside of a bulletproof SUV. As the dust settles, the question now is what was the motivation behind the brutal murders. Some speculate it may have been a case of mistaken identity, where the gunmen could have seen the group’s envoy of large SUVs and thought they were a rival gang.
However, based on the details being released it seems virtually impossible that the cartel couldn’t immediately identify that it was American women and children in the cars. One child was gunned down as they attempted to run away, a mother exited the car with her hands up and was immediately killed.
Miraculously, eight young children survived the attack by hiding in the brush. One relative said the 13-year-old, Devin Blake Langford, hid his siblings and covered them with branches, then walked 14 miles for help. Five of the eight survivors were badly wounded and have been transported to hospitals in Arizona.
In a twitter announcement, President Trump immediately offered help and alluded to the possibility to “wage war.” Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador thanked Trump, “but declined the help, saying, ‘The worst thing you can have is war.” Referencing previous government leadership, “We declared war, and it didn’t work…That is not an option” said Obrador.
