Four Americans who traveled to Mexico last week to seek medical care were caught in a deadly shootout, kidnapped by heavily armed men and thrown into the back of a pickup truck.
The four were traveling Friday in a white minivan with North Carolina license plates. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said in a statement on Sunday that the gunman opened fire shortly after entering the city of Matamoros from Brownsville, near the Gulf Coast, on the southernmost tip of Texas.
The kidnapping victims have been identified as Gindel Brown, Eric James Williams, cousins Latavia “Tay” Magee and Shade Woodard. According to ABC News.
The survivors – Williams and Maggie – have returned to the United States, their families said.
read more:
The FBI said, “All four Americans were put into a vehicle and taken from the scene by armed men. The agency offered a $50,000 reward for the return of the victims and the arrest of the kidnappers. .
On Tuesday, Tamaulipas Governor Americo Villarreal announced that four people had been found. Here’s what we know about them:
Gindel Brown
Zalandria Brown, of Florence, South Carolina, said she has been in contact with the FBI and local authorities after learning that her brother Jindel Brown was one of the four victims.
“It’s like a bad dream you want to wake up from,” she said in a telephone interview. .”
Zalandria Brown said her brother and two friends from Myrtle Beach were accompanying a third friend who was going to Mexico for abdominal tuck surgery. A doctor advertising such an operation in Matamoros did not respond to calls seeking comment.
Brown said the group was very close and all traveled to help divide the driving duties. They were aware of the dangers in Mexico, she added, and her brother had expressed some concerns.
“Jindel kept saying, ‘We shouldn’t be depressed,'” Brown said.
Eric Williams
Robert Williams said in a telephone interview that his brother, 38-year-old Eric Williams, was among the abducted Americans. I live in
Williams described his brother as “easy-going” and “fun”.
He didn’t know his brother was traveling to Mexico until the kidnapping hit the news. However, seeing his Facebook post of his brother, he believes that he didn’t think the trip was dangerous.
“He thought it would be fun,” Williams said. He said he hadn’t heard anything about his brother’s whereabouts.
Villarreal said the injured American, Eric Williams, was shot in the left leg and is not in a life-threatening condition. The survivor was taken to the Valley Regional Medical Center with his FBI escort, the Brownsville Herald. reportA hospital spokesperson referred all inquiries to the FBI.
Latavia “Tay” Maggie
According to ABC NewsMcGee is a mother of five who came from South Carolina for cosmetic surgery. Relatives Gindel-Brown said Monday that Friday’s kidnapping was due to abdominal tuck surgery from doctors in the Mexican border city of Matamoros.
Maggie’s mother, Barbara Burgess, told ABC News The FBI came to her house on Tuesday to let her know that her daughter was alive. “She had to win my heart,” she said when she heard the news.
Maggie spoke with her mother from a Texas hospital on Tuesday, and Burgess said Maggie confirmed she had no major injuries.
Shade Woodard
Woodard and Maggie are cousins, Reported by ABC NewsChannel 9 is working to find out more about him.
kidnapping video
A video posted to social media on Friday showed men in assault rifles and tan body armor carrying four people into the bed of a white pickup truck in broad daylight. was alive and awake, but the other two appeared dead or injured. At least one person apparently lifted his head off the pavement before being dragged into the truck.
This scene shows the terrorism that has been rife for years in Matamoros, a city controlled by a powerful drug cartel faction in the Gulf. fight among themAmidst the violence, thousands of Mexicans have gone missing in Tamaulipas alone.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said on Monday that “there was a conflict between the groups and they were detained,” without giving details. He originally said four Americans had come to Mexico to buy drugs.
Tamaulipas chief prosecutor Irving Barrios told reporters Friday’s shooting killed a Mexican woman. did not specify.
A woman driving in Matamoros, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation, said she witnessed what she believed to be a shooting and a kidnapping.
The woman said her white minivan was rear-ended by another vehicle near an intersection, after which gunshots rang out. Another SUV was hoisted up and several armed men jumped out.
“Suddenly they (the gunmen) appeared in front of us,” she said. “I was in shock. ’”
She said the gunman forced a woman who was able to walk into the back of the pickup. Another person was brought into the truck, but was able to move his head.
“The other two dragged along the pavement, but I don’t know if they’re alive or dead,” she said.
Mexican authorities arrived minutes later.
Gindel Braun’s family has asked people to share relevant information with local authorities. His father, Odell William Brown, said his family is still searching for answers.
“I don’t know which way to go now,” he said. “I don’t know what it is”
Violence of Matamoros
The shootout in Matamoros on Friday was so bad that the US consulate issued a warning of the danger and local authorities warned people to evacuate. It was not immediately clear how the abductions were related to the violence.
US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said in a statement Monday that an American had been kidnapped at gunpoint and that an “innocent” Mexican citizen had died in the attack. He said various U.S. law enforcement agencies are working with their Mexican counterparts to recover missing persons.
President Joe Biden has been informed of the situation, White House press secretary Carine Jean-Pierre said on Monday. She declined to answer other questions, citing privacy concerns.
Victims of violence in Matamoros and other large border cities of Tamaulipas are often not counted due to the history of cartels bringing their own bodies. Local media often avoid reporting such episodes due to safety concerns, creating an information vacuum.
The State Department warns U.S. citizens not to travel to Tamaulipas. However, U.S. citizens living in Brownsville and elsewhere in Texas cross frequently to visit family, attend medical appointments, and shop. It is also a transit point for travelers.
Matamoros, home of the Gulf Cartel, was once relatively peaceful. For years, a night out on the town has been part of a “bilateral vacation” for spring breakers who flock to Texas’ South Padre Island.
But cartel violence has increased in the last 10-15 years Scared a lot of that business. Occasionally, US citizens are involved in combat.
In October 2014, three American brothers went missing near Matamoros and were later found shot and burned. Their parents said they were kidnapped by men in police attire, a police officer who identified himself as “Hercules.”
(See below: Four Americans in van with NC plates kidnapped in northern Mexico, officials say)