Two of the 4 Americans kidnapped in Mexico are lifeless, two alive: report

Two of the 4 American residents kidnapped in Mexico are lifeless whereas the opposite two stay alive, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing the governor of Tamaulipas.

Dramatic video reveals the second 4 Americans have been kidnapped shortly after crossing into Mexico, in what authorities have known as a case of mistaken identification.

The video of the violent incident reveals armed males in physique armor dragging one individual throughout the pavement and pushing a girl into the mattress of a white truck, then dragging two extra males who look like wounded throughout the pavement and loading them into the mattress of the identical truck.

Photos from the scene present a white minivan with North Carolina plates riddled with bullet holes shortly after the kidnappings, with a girl who reportedly witnessed the assault telling the Associated Press she noticed the minivan collide with one other automobile earlier than listening to gunfire and seeing armed males method the van.

“All of a sudden they (the gunmen) have been in entrance of us,” mentioned the girl, who declined to be recognized for worry of retaliation. “I entered a state of shock, no person honked their horn, no person moved. Everybody will need to have been pondering the identical factor, ‘If we transfer they are going to see us, or they could shoot us.’”

FIRST OF FOUR AMERICANS KIDNAPPED IN MEXICO HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED

A member of the Mexican safety forces stands subsequent to a white minivan with North Carolina plates and several other bullet holes, on the crime scene the place gunmen kidnapped 4 U.S. residents who crossed into Mexico from Texas, Friday, March 3, 2023. (AP Photo)

She added that she noticed the lads power one girl who was capable of stroll into the mattress of their truck, whereas one other sufferer who she mentioned might transfer his head was loaded into the truck. 

“The different two they dragged throughout the pavement, we do not know in the event that they have been alive or lifeless,” she mentioned.

According to regulation enforcement, the group of Americans have been touring to Mexico for well being companies final week when the minivan they have been driving was attacked by a bunch of armed males, who shot on the automobile earlier than dragging the Americans out and loading them right into a truck. The 4 Americans weren’t considered the supposed goal of the assault.

The group crossed Brownsville, Texas, into the Mexican metropolis of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, an space that has been tormented by cartel violence and carries a journey advisory from the State Department warning Americans to keep away from visiting.

Mexican Natioanla Guard put together a search mission for 4 U.S. residents kidnapped by gunmen at Matamoros, Mexico. (AP Photo)

FOUR AMERICANS KIDNAPPED IN MEXICO MAY HAVE BEEN TARGETED UNINTENTIONALLY: REPORT

One of the 4 Americans within the group, Zindell Brown, was recognized by his sister, Zalandria Brown of Florence, South Carolina, on Tuesday, saying she has been involved with the FBI and Mexican authorities because the incident.

“This is sort of a unhealthy dream you would like you might get up from,” Brown informed the Associated Press. “To see a member of your loved ones thrown behind a truck and dragged, it’s simply unbelievable.”

Brown mentioned her youthful brother is from Myrtle Beach and was visiting Mexico with three mates, certainly one of whom was there to get a tummy tuck surgical procedure.

She added that her brother was hesitant to make the journey, warning his mates concerning the risks earlier than they departed.

Mexican military troopers put together a search mission for 4 U.S. residents kidnapped by gunmen in Matamoros, Mexico. (AP Photo)

“Zindell stored saying, ‘We shouldn’t go down,’” Brown mentioned.

The sufferer’s father, O’dell William Brown, mentioned the household is reeling from the information.

“I don’t know which option to go proper now,” he mentioned. “We don’t know what’s what.”

It is unclear if Brown is a kind of who died within the incident.

The FBI is providing a $50,000 reward for data resulting in the return of the victims and arrests of these accountable.

THE Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report