PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — Gunfire broke out in a crowded beachfront nightclub throbbing with electronic music early Monday, causing five deaths and setting off a bloody stampede by screaming concertgoers at an international festival in this Caribbean resort.
At least one person died in the crush to escape and some of the 15 people wounded or injured were hurt in the rush out, authorities said.
Quintana Roo state Attorney General Miguel Angel Pech ruled out any terror attack. He said the shooting erupted when security personnel tried to stop a man from entering the Blue Parrot club with a gun.
Three of those killed were part of the security detail at the 10-day BPM electronic music festival, Pech said. State officials said the dead included two Canadians, an Italian and a Colombian. The gunman apparently fled.
“I was thinking it was the same thing that happened in Paris, some guy just walking in and shooting people at a restaurant, bang bang bang, a terrorist attack,” said New Zealand tourist Tyler Klee, who was outside the club when shots rang out.
“Everyone ran, everyone was terrified, looking for their friends … We were running away and then you hear more shots fired, like you don’t know if you’re going to be shot in the back or not.”
His friend Ben Forbes, from Australia, said: “It happened pretty quickly as well … You still didn’t know where they were, how many there were.”
Pech, the state attorney general, said the 15 people hurt included a Mexican woman who was seriously injured.
He said eight of the injured, including two U.S. citizens, were treated for less serious injuries at hospitals and released. Canada’s Global Affairs office confirmed at least one Canadian died and said it was investigating the other reported fatality. It said at least two Canadians were injured. Italy’s Foreign Ministry confirmed one of its citizens died.
Pech said a man apparently tried to enter the nightclub about 2:30 a.m., but was denied access because he had a gun. The gunman then began to exchange fire with another person inside.
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