A family’s birthday trip to Mexico ended in tragedy after gunmen opened fire on their vehicle, killing three men and wounding their teenage son.
Chicago siblings Vicente Peña Jr., 38, and Antonio Fernández, 44, and their Mexico-based cousin Jorge Vargas, 22, were shot dead during a roadside attack in Santiago de Papasquiaro, a town in the northern state of Durango, on Friday night.
Peña Jr.’s son, Jason Peña, who turned 14 on Monday, is currently in an induced coma after undergoing surgery for a gunshot wound in the head.
The victims were traveling in a black GMC Yukon with Illinois plates when they were attacked, local authorities said.
All four victims’ bodies were found lying on the ground next to the vehicle. Paramedics were seen providing medical attention to one of the victims.
Jason’s maternal grandmother, María Elena Hernández, told Univision Chicago the three men and her grandson were all shot in the head.
‘His grandfather, my son-in-law’s father, told me that the boy was beaten and that maybe he got into a fight with the criminals who killed them,’ she said.
Chicago resident Vicente Peña Jr. (right) was shot dead in a roadside attack Friday in Durango, Mexico that left his brother and cousin dead and his son, Jason Peña (left), in an induced coma after undergoing surgery for a gunshot wound in the head
Antonio Fernández, of Chicago, was shot dead along with his brother, Vicente Peña, who also lives in Chicago and cousin, Jorge Vargas, who lives in Durango. Hernández’s nephew and his brother’s son, Jason Peña, was shot in the head and is in a coma
Tony Peña Sr. told Telemundo Chicago that his son and Hernández were each shot four times in the shoulder and once in the head. Vargas was shot three times.
‘I feel very devastated because they killed my entire family,’ he said. ‘That was a massacre, as they say.’
The teenager’s mother, Rosy Cabral, set up an account on Spot Fund, to raise money to transport the boy to Chicago in an air ambulance.
‘I plan on transferring my son to USA for better care and a higher chance of survival,’ Cabral wrote.
‘I am waiting on him to be a bit more stable in order to transfer him to [the United States].’
Paramedics tend to Chicago teenager Jason Peña, who was shot in the head during a roadside attack that left his father, uncle and cousin dead Friday in Santiago de Papasquiaro, a town in the northern state of Durango
Mexican authorities found the bodies of all four victims on the ground next to their vehicle
Jorge Vargas was shot at least three times during last Friday’s roadside attack in Mexico that left him and his two cousins dead and a 14-year-old cousin critically injured
United Giving Home has been assisting the family with the process and reached out to the Department of State and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.
Julie Contreras, a pastor for the non-profit organization, told ABC 7 Chicago that Jason’s youngest brother learned of the shooting.
‘It is very heart-wrenching and currently this family is living a nightmare,’ Contreras said. ‘We just want to bring them home so they can be safe.’
The disturbing attack comes as the Department of State maintains a travel advisory for different states in Mexico.
The government urges U.S. citizens to reconsider traveling to Durango because of ‘violent crime and gang activity.’
