A community is in mourning after nine family members, including three women and six children, were gunned down in an apparent ambush by a Mexican cartel, CBS News reported.
Five more children were injured in the attack, and two escaped unharmed.
Authorities say the attack occurred near the Mexican town of Bavispe, about 100 miles south of the Arizona border.
The family members, all dual U.S.-Mexico citizens, are part of the La Mora community, which settled in Sonora state as an offshoot of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints several decades ago.
The FBI is investigating whether the cartel attacked in a case of mistaken identity.
As NBC News reported, the three women and 14 children had set out in a convoy of three SUVs–with some headed back to the U.S.–while others were intending to visit relatives in a nearby town.
Mexican authorities said that the area where the attack took place is under territorial dispute by several cartels, and the convoy of SUVs could have been mistaken for one of the cartels.
The cars were so thoroughly sprayed with gunfire that one exploded in flames.
One relative said he found the burned remains of the car, containing the bodies of his nephew’s wife and her four children, and video of the still-smoldering car was posted to Facebook.
Dead in the attack are Rhonita Miller, 30, Howard Jacob Miller, 12, Krystal Miller, 10, Titus Miller, 8 months, Tiana Miller, also 8 months, Christina Langford Johnson, 29, Dawna Ray Langford, 43, Trevor Langford, 11, and Rogan Langford, 2.
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The injured include 8-year-old Cody Langford, who was shot in the jaw and the leg, Xander Langford, 4, who was shot in the back, and 9-month-old Brixon Langford, who was shot in the chest and grazed on the wrist.
Family members say that 13-year-old Devin Langford, who was unharmed in the attack, walked 14 miles back to La Mora to get help after hiding his siblings in some bushes.
In a Facebook post , Kendra Miller explained that it took him six hours to reach the settlement. Once alerted by Devin, other family members alerted the authorities and assembled a group to rescue the hidden children.
Mckenzie Langford, whose arm was grazed with a bullet in the attack, also went for help when she felt Devin had taken too long, got lost in the dark, and had to be rescued by a search party.
Sadly, this isn’t the first violence to visit the family.
Benjamin LeBaron, an anti-crime activist related to the family, was murdered in a neighboring state in 2009, according to CBS News.
“Everyone’s just in complete and utter shock,” Leah Staddon, another relative of the victims, told ABC News . “It has been pretty violent down there for a while and now that it has hit our family, I just want people to know out here how bad it had gotten.”
One bright spot in the tragedy is the survival of 7-month-old Faith, who was uninjured.
The infant was found in her carseat, which had been moved to the floor of the vehicle. Bullet holes surrounded her, but witnesses say that it looked like her mom, Christina, had moved the seat to protect her baby.
According to Mexican authorities, a suspect has now been taken into custody.
The Ministerial Agency for Criminal Investigations (AMIC) said that a person was arrested in the hills of Agua Prieta.
The suspect’s identity or connection to the massacre hasn’t been released publicly yet.
However, in a frightening twist, the AMIC says that they were found with two hostages, who were bound and gagged.
The suspect also had multiple rifles, high-caliber weapons, and plenty of ammo.
There has been no further details released regarding the hostages or if they have any connection to the family massacre.
There appears to be some disagreement over which cartel is responsible for the attack.
Cesar Peniche Espejel, the Attorney-General for the state of Chihuahua said that he believes that a new offshoot of the famous Sinaloa cartel called “Los Jaguares” is to blame.
However, US officials are focusing on another group called “La Línea”.
It’s clear that the investigation has a long way to go before justice can truly be served for the grieving families. A GoFundMe campaign has been set up for those who might wish to donate towards medical and funeral costs.
