Credit: El Vergel Water ParkMany people are currently enjoying summer vacation and heading out to enjoy activities like swimming, boating, visiting theme parks, or just spending time with friends and family. This summer has been incredibly hot, and much of North America has been under an extreme heat warning. So, a lot of people are trying to find activities that will get them away from the television and keep them cool.
And what better place to stay cool and have a great time than a water park?
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In Tijuana, Mexico, locals love to visit the Parque Aquatico El Vergel. The water park is also popular with Southern California residents since it is located just over the Mexican border. The water park boasts a dozen attractions, and adults can enjoy the thrill rides as much as the kids enjoy their own swimming areas.
Sadly, a fun time in the sun turned into a day of fear for many when gunmen stormed El Vergel and began shooting.
The shooting happened on the evening of July 10. According to reports, two gunmen entered the park and began firing automatic weapons at guests in the wave pool. The Baja attorney general’s office said that five people were injured, including two children. Thankfully, none of the injuries were life-threatening.
Per El Pais, a local Mexican news outlet:
According to local media, the five injured were not reported with serious injuries, but were transferred to a Red Cross hospital in Tijuana for medical attention. One of the injured was shot in the shoulder, another in the left buttock, and the third woman had a bullet graze her leg, while the minors were reported with wounds in the arm and femur, according to an initial report from the Attorney General ‘s Office of the State of Baja California (FGE).
Despite the fact that Tijuana continues to be a top vacation destination in the country, violence in the area has been increasing, and more people are being killed every day.
Local news outlets have reported violence between Tijuana and Ensenada has skyrocketed in recent months, putting locals in a very dangerous situation. In just five months — between January and May of this year — the state of Baja is now the second-highest area in the country when it comes to “intentional homicides.” There were more than one thousand murders in that time frame.
Just a few days before the attack at El Vergel, Minerva Pérez Castro, president of the National Chamber of Fishing and Aquaculture Industries in Baja, was killed in an armed attack.
Shortly after the shooting, El Vergel released a statement on its Facebook page, saying, “Today’s events leave us sad and outraged with the insecurity experienced throughout Tijuana. We extend our most sincere apologies to all the people who were affected.”
We wish a speedy recovery to those injured in the El Vergel Water Park shooting.