(KTXL) — A couple from California were shot and killed by gunmen on Wednesday night in the western Mexican state of Michoacán, according to officials.
The attack happened in the city of Angamacutiro, about 230 miles west of Mexico City, according to officials in the Michoacán state attorney general's office, The New York Times reports.
City officials identified the couple as Rafael Cardona Aguilera and Gloria Ambriz, residents of Northern California who were on vacation, according to state officials. The former's sister is the wife of Angamacutiro’s current mayor, Hermes Pacheco, the Times reported, citing the town council.
Mexican authorities told the Times that officers found the couple inside a bullet-ridden vehicle on a street in Angamacutiro, although it was still unclear if they were targeted as of Monday.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson confirmed the deaths of two U.S. citizens in Michoacán to Nexstar's KTXL, adding that it is "closely monitoring local authorities' investigation into the reported killings."
Local officials did not immediately return KTXL's requests for comment.
The state of Michoacán is one of several in Mexico that have seen widespread violent crime in the last two decades after a federal government crackdown began against organized crime groups in 2006.
Michoacán is one of six Mexican states that U.S. officials advise citizens not to travel to due to crime. The other five states are Colima, Guerrero, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas.
