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Two men and two women celebrating birthdays were massacred by gunmen at a Denny’s in the Mexican border town of Ciudad Juárez and another person was injured.
Surveillance footage showed the two suspects firing at several customers, including one who was hit by a bullet in the right shoulder, as they fled for the exit.
One of the assassins then went to the cubicle where the four victims were sitting and fired several shots at a woman who was standing next to a man who had been shot earlier.
He then turned to a man who had slumped against the table after being hit by the gunfire and shot him in the head again – causing the man to fall to the ground.
Others, unable to escape, fell to the ground and cowered under their tables. Two people sitting on the table next to the victims were seen holding hands and shaking in fear while keeping their heads bowed.
Horrific CCTV footage shows two gunmen shooting dead four people at close range while celebrating a birthday at a restaurant in Mexico
A man ran away from the table as soon as he spotted the attackers
Fabiola Luna was celebrating her 30th birthday when she and three other people were executed at a Denny’s in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, on Thursday. Luna was a well-known hairstylist in town
One of the victims of the mass shooting has been identified as Fabiola Luna, a well-known hair stylist who was celebrating her 30th birthday.
The others have been identified as Alan Martínez; Manuel Gonzalez; and Judith Rivas.
The wounded customer was identified as Edgar. Nothing is known about the condition of the 35-year-old.
Chihuahua’s Attorney General’s Office for the North Zone District said it was waiting for him to recover before interviewing him.
Both gunmen ran after customers who fled as shots were fired inside Denny’s
The victims remained in the cabin before the two gunmen went to their table and shot them all multiple times
Fabiola Luna (right) was among four people executed Thursday morning at a Denny’s in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
Relatives are overcome with emotion as they hold on near a crime scene where unknown assailants killed two women and two men at a restaurant
An employee at the diner-style restaurant told El Diario de Juárez newspaper that a group of waiters approached Luna’s table and sang “Las Mañanitas” (The Little Mornings), a traditional Mexican birthday song, before the gunmen unleashed the attack .
“It was crowded, there were a lot of kids, the parents pushed them out as best they could,” said another employee.
“It was horrible, we heard about 10 shots, and then we all threw ourselves on the ground,” a witness identified as Mario N. told the newspaper, adding that many customers fled to the toilet.
Fabiola Luna was celebrating her 30th birthday when two gunmen shot and killed her and three other people at her table in a Denny’s in the Mexican border town of Ciudad Juárez, just outside of El Paso, Texas
Family members of the victims were seen crying and collapsing on the ground after the shooting
A relative falls to the ground when being held by a man in the restaurant’s parking lot
A forensic scientist works at the crime scene, where customers’ breakfasts are seen untouched after they fled for their lives from the shooters
Family members of the victims were seen crying and collapsing on the ground after the shooting.
Luna’s murder comes weeks after her boyfriend was also shot dead in Mexico.
“The one who shared my dreams… He doesn’t live here anymore, wings grew in his soul and he fled and he never came back here,” she wrote in a Facebook post, sharing a photo of him on March 18 May shared, “So many things died that afternoon I have nothing left to live for… He was my life.”
Authorities have not said if both shootings are related.
Luna was previously arrested along with three other men on January 30, 2014 for possession of a firearm during a traffic stop for speeding in Ciudad Juárez.
Fabiola Luna (left) was arrested along with three men on January 30, 2014 for possession of a firearm during a traffic stop for speeding in Ciudad Juárez
Members of the Mexican National Guard guard the crime scene on Thursday
A bullet-damaged glass window is pictured Thursday at the scene in Mexico
Relatives cry and huddle after Thursday’s shooting in the Mexican border town of Ciudad Juárez, across the street from El Paso, Texas
“We never expected this to happen, I’m saying we live in Juárez and anything can happen, but not in a place like this,” said a Denny’s chef. “The truth is I never imagined that, I went out and even burned what we left on the stove.”
“We got out as best we could, we threw ourselves on the ground and ran, so crawled,” said another employee.
Witnesses told police the two gunmen arrived in a three-vehicle convoy – but they were the only ones entering the restaurant, KTSM reported.
Police have identified the three vehicles and are currently searching for the owners.
Heavily armed officers from the Mexican National Guard surrounded the restaurant after the massacre.
Fabiola Luna (right) with her boyfriend (left) who was recently shot dead in Mexico. It is not known if her murder was connected to his assassination
Members of the Ciudad Juárez Metropolitan Police guard an area where the shooting took place
Forensic scientists are working Thursday in Ciudad Juárez in the area where the shooting took place