KEY POINTS

  • Boy was killed after gunmen attacked a family
  • Gunmen open fired at two Oklahoma-plated vehicles 
  • Authorities questioning why family had been driving on notirious highway 

One American citizen was killed while two individuals were injured in a road attack near the Texas border in Tamaulipas, Mexico Saturday.

Prosecutors identified the fatality as 13-year-old Oscar Castillo Lopez, according to AP News.

Nuevo Leon state prosecutor's office deputy Luis Enrique Orzoco also told the outlet that another boy was in critical condition because the attack, alongside a 48-year-old man. Another adult, a 42-year-old woman was reported to be in stable condition.

police line
Representation image of a crime scene. Gerd Altmann/ Pixabay

The relationship between the adults and the children remained unclear, although Orzoco aid the two adults were siblings, added AP News.

The family was returning to the United States from a holiday trip to the border state of Nuevo Leon when their vehicles were suddenly attacked. One of the attackers' SUV passed them and cut them off, causing the vehicles to collide.

The suspects then open fired at the vehicles who had Oklahoma license plates, added AP News, citing a statement from the Tamaulipas security coordinating group.

Lopez's death came after the U.S. consulate in Nuevo Laredo released a series of security alerts last week due to the violence in the said area, according to ABC News.

Authorities are still questioning why the family was driving on the infamous highway after dark, added AP News.

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