Family gunned down while visiting relatives in Mexico for holidays, Illinois group says
A Chicago family was gunned down in Durango, Mexico, leaving two men dead and a 14-year-old boy critically injured, relatives and an advocacy group said.
Vicente Pena Jr., his brother Antonio Fernandez, and his 14-year-old son Jason V. Pena traveled to Mexico over the holidays where they were ambushed on a dark road in the city of Durango, according to Julie Contreras, a pastor and patient advocate with United Giving Hope.
A U.S. Department of State spokesperson confirmed the deaths of Pena Jr. and Fernandez, both U.S. citizens, to McClatchy News, adding that they are “aware of reports of the injury of a minor.”
The group was on their way to get food and drinks when unknown people gunned them down, Contreras told McClatchy News in an interview Dec. 31.
The two men who died at the scene had multiple gunshot wounds to the head, Contreras said.
A bullet that struck Jason entered “the front of his head and exited the side of his head,” according to Contreras.
“They were ambushed and violently murdered,” Contreras told McClatchy News. “This family has no connection to any type of organized crime,” she added.
Jason is in critical condition in a Durango hospital, and his mother, Ana Cabral, is working with Contreras to bring him back to the U.S. for medical care.
“I think he’s a fighter and the reason why I think he’s a fighter is because he was unattended there for several hours and he was still alive,” Contreras told McClatchy News.
Contreras called the situation “a huge nightmare” for Cabral, adding that she is only permitted to see her son in the hospital for 2 hours each day.
“The Mexican authorities are conducting an investigation at this time,” the Department of State said. “We are closely monitoring the investigation by local authorities.”
No motivation for the shooting has been released.
This story was originally published January 1, 2025 at 10:06 AM with the headline "Family gunned down while visiting relatives in Mexico for holidays, Illinois group says."
