Groom shot dead moments after wedding in Mexico
A groom was shot dead in Mexico moments after getting married over the weekend – in a tragic case of mistaken identity amid ongoing cartel wars in the region.
Marco Antonio Rosales Contreras, 32, was leaving his wedding ceremony at the Neustra Señora de La Candelaria church in Caborca around 5 p.m. local time on Saturday when he was hit by multiple bullets, El Universal reported.
Witnesses later said the shots came from a single unidentified man who fled into the street. Antonio, a computer engineer from Guadalajara, was pronounced dead en route to hospital.
Video footage shows his new bride being escorted away from the church in a fit of hysterics, her white wedding dress stained with blood.
Antonio’s sister, Michelle Adriana, 23, was also shot in the back. She was treated in hospital and released a few hours later.
On Sunday evening, state officials announced that no investigative leads had been ruled out. According to the Sonora Attorney General’s Office, Antonio’s killing was a « direct attack », although they believe the bullets may have been aimed at someone else.
« Investigations indicate that the attack on Marco Antonio was directed against another individual who was also getting married at the same time in another nearby town, » the statement said.
Authorities say another man was also shot dead at his wedding in a nearby town the same night.
Located in the northwest corner of the country, Caborca is home to an eponymous cartel led by veteran « narco de narcos » Rafael Caro Quintero. Caro Quintero was arrested in July and is awaiting extradition for the 1985 murder of a US Drug Enforcement Administration agent.
Cartel violence is a growing concern in Caborca, as the local drug trafficking ring wages war on an armed wing of the Sinaloa Cartel.
The drug trade has also led to bloodshed in other parts of the country: In late September, The Post reported on a horrific shooting at a pool hall in Tarimoro that left nine people dead and at least three injured.
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