An American tourist on vacation south of the border was accidentally killed in an upscale part of Mexico City, Mexico, on Monday, July 10, as she departed a taco restaurant.
The Mexico City Attorney General’s office stated that the woman was struck by the bullet mistakingly as two men on a motorcycle opened fire on another man who was on the sidewalk.
As reported by The New York Post , Tatiana Mirutenko, 27, was the victim of this mistaken shooting while exiting a restaurant in the Lomas de Chapultepec neighborhood of the Mexico capital. The attack happened at 5:50 am in an area known well as a hotspot for tourists.
Mirutenko, who was enjoying a vacation to the southern nation, was not pronounced dead at the scene but was taken to a local hospital where she passed away not long after.
The 27-year-old woman and her husband James Hoover hailed from San Francisco and were celebrating their first wedding anniversary together in the vibrant city, traveling with three other couples.
The couple departed for their trip on July 3 and had intentions to visit as many highly rated restaurants in the area as they could during their trip. The pair was reportedly only one day away from their flight back to the United States.
“She was telling me how wonderful, how safe it was,” said her mom, Natalie Mirutenko.
“A year ago, we were selecting flowers for the wedding. Today we were looking at flowers for the funeral,” Wasyl Mirutenko, Tatiana’s father, told San Francisco ABC station KGO .
American tourist killed in Mexico City shooting identified as 27-year-old woman from Northern California https://t.co/Zib9VGGXS3 pic.twitter.com/0gEnZTnt5j
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) July 10, 2018
The woman worked for Nektar Therapeutics in San Francisco and was a vital asset to her company. “Tatiana was a bright and passionate rising star on our Nektar Investor Relations team in San Francisco,” Jennifer Ruddock, Nektar’s senior Vice president of Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs told ABC News . “She was always willing to help on any project across the company and had an incredibly strong work ethic. Many throughout Nektar, and outside the company, valued her positive energy, insight and sheer enthusiasm for life.”
The 46-year-old man who was the intended target in this particular shooting was injured. Mexico City’s Attorney General also stated that the man worked as a bouncer in Polanco, a neighborhood just east of Lomas de Chapultepec.
Authorities have not been able to pinpoint the reasoning behind the shooting, but are actively pursuing the two suspects involved who reportedly have fled deeper into Mexico to avoid prosecution.
“The analysis of the surveillance cameras, by the investigation police, allowed us to know that the aggressors fled to the State of Mexico,” the attorney general mentioned.
