Photo: DANIEL SLIM / AFP / Getty Images
A shootout between two drug gangs in a popular resort area of Tulum, Mexico, left an American woman dead. Authorities said that Niko Honarbakhsh was enjoying the sunset with her dogs in Tulum Hotel Zone when gunfire erupted near the Mia Beach Club.
Honarbakhsh is from Los Angeles but now lives in Cancun.
A man nicknamed "Belize" was also killed in the shootout. While there were initial reports he was in a relationship with Honarbakhsh, officials said that was not the case.
They said that "Belize" was involved in the drug deal and had cocaine and pills in his possession at the time. Honarbakhsh was not involved with the drug deal that caused the shooting, police said.
Police said they have identified the shooting suspects and are working to locate them.
The shooting left other tourists terrified as they feared for their lives.
According to the Daily Mail, one person from Austin, Texas, described the shooting in a post on TripAdvisor titled: "Is Tulum no longer safe? 2 people murdered in front of me."
"The gunman had shot the guy he was chasing once, and it slowed him down enough that the gunman walked over and shot him a couple more times in the back," they wrote.
"The gunman just ran north down the beach into the crowd. Security at the Mia had no clue what was going on nor did they check on the 2 people shot. It was other beach guests that did. The people that worked there almost acted like it was no big deal, and gave none of us instructions like, get down, get off the beach….. none of them got on their radios calling for the police or backup."