A 17-Year-Old Student Among 3 Killed as Gunmen in a Red Nissan March Open Fire on a Mazatlán Car Wash Across From a Middle School — the Same Day 10 Died at El Castillo Prison
Gunmen opened fire on a car wash across the street from a middle school in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, on the afternoon of Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, killing three people, Noroeste reported. One of them was a 17-year-old high school student, according to Los Noticieristas. The attack in the Flores Magón neighborhood came on the same day a shooting inside the city’s El Castillo prison killed nine inmates and a 2-year-old boy.
What happened at the car wash
The attack was reported at about 2:20 p.m. at a car wash on Avenida De las Torres, opposite General Secondary School No. 4, Noroeste said. Witnesses told the paper that armed men got out of a vehicle and fired at the workers and customers. Los Noticieristas reported that the gunmen came in a red Nissan March.
Paramedics from Bomberos Veteranos and the Mexican Red Cross found two men dead at the scene and took the wounded to hospitals. A 24-year-old man named José Alexis died in the hospital later that day. Hospital social workers reported his death at 6 p.m., Noroeste said. Línea Directa spelled his name Josué Alexis. Municipal police cordoned off the area and soldiers set up a security perimeter.
A 17-year-old student among the dead
On Friday, Oct. 9, Sinaloa’s branch of Conalep, a public technical high school system, confirmed the death of its student Roberto David, 17, Los Noticieristas reported. He was a fifth-semester student at Conalep Mazatlán 1. The outlet said he was among those killed at the car wash. Authorities had not publicly identified the other two dead.
Wounded, motive and the investigation
Reports differ on the number of wounded. Los Noticieristas and Línea Directa first reported four people wounded. In its later report, Noroeste said two men were still hospitalized in serious condition. The Sinaloa State Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation. None of the outlets reported any arrests or a motive, and authorities have not linked the attack to any criminal group. Línea Directa said a woman had been killed shortly before in Mazatlán’s Santa Teresa area. For the wider picture in the port city, see our Mazatlán safety page.
Sources
- Noroeste: Ataque armado en autobaño en la colonia Flores Magón, en Mazatlán, deja 3 muertos y 2 heridos (Oct. 8, 2026)
- Noroeste: Muere tercera víctima tras ataque armado en autobaño de la Flores Magón, en Mazatlán (Oct. 8, 2026)
- Los Noticieristas (Gustavo García): Ataque armado en autolavado de la Flores Magón deja dos muertos y cuatro heridos en Mazatlán (Oct. 8, 2026)
- Los Noticieristas (Cecilia Barrón): Tenía 17 años, Roberto David, estudiante del Conalep, entre fallecidos de ataque en autolavado de Mazatlán (Oct. 9, 2026)
- Línea Directa: Muere en hospital joven herido tras ataque armado en autolavado en la colonia Flores Magón (Oct. 8, 2026)
- Photos: Gustavo García, via Los Noticieristas.
Reported Oct. 9, 2026, from the Mexican news reports listed above. Authorities had not released an official statement on motive, suspects or the identities of all victims at the time of writing. Counts of the wounded differ between outlets.