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FAMILY of a mother of four who was among 20 people killed in a massacre in Mexico is seeking answers as they try to bring her surviving sister home.
Melissa Silva, 36, and her teenage sister Arleth Silva, 16, were vacationing in Michoacan, Mexico when the shooting happened.
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Melissa died after the gunfire erupted at a crowded venue known to host cockfights.
Arleth, a student at Wheaton Warrenville South High School in Illinois, was critically injured.
“They were there on vacation to celebrate the holidays,” said Alex Silva, the victims’ brother. “They were there for a couple of months.”
The sisters are the oldest and youngest of a family of nine children. They grew up in the suburbs of Illinois and had been visiting Mexico with their parents, who were thinking about moving back there.
Their mother was nearby when the incident occurred and heard the gunshots.
“They were just ambushed. Everyone was shot. Everyone that was there,” Alex said. “Once she showed up, she saw my sisters laying down.
“My older sister was already dead. She was pale in the face. She was there lying on the ground and the other little girl was a meter away from her, also lying but still breathing.”
Seventeen men and three women were killed in the tragedy in the Las Tranjas region.
The incident took place on Sunday, March 27 just after 10.30pm.
According to a prosecutor’s statement, a food truck had arrived at the event and several armed people dressed in camouflage got out of the vehicle.
“At the same moment, a bus that was outside the building was used as a blockade,” the statement continued, adding that it was an apparent attempt to stop victims from escaping or calling for help.
During a preliminary investigation, authorities found 15 vehicles that may have belonged to victims. One of them had stickers with the logo of a gang.
Drug cartels and other criminal gangs had reportedly been fighting in the area, prosecutors said.
“There are indications that the attack involved a confrontation between criminal groups,” the federal public safety department said in a statement.
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Mexico’s president, promised that a full investigation of the incident would take place.
According to Melissa’s family, she was most recently living in California with her children, three of which are under 18.
Her sister, Yalitza Silva, told ABC7 that the family is devastated.
“I did not imagine that it was going to be one of my sisters. Melissa could not, I mean, she was very strong,” she said.
EFFORTS TO BRING TEEN HOME
A GoFundMe was created to cover Melissa’s funeral costs and Arleth’s hospital expenses.
According to the fundraiser, the teen was shot three time, including once in the lungs and twice in the leg. She is currently in the ICU.
The family hopes to move Arleth to a hospital in the United States so she can receive better care. They added that the teen may have to have multiple screws placed in her spine.
For now, a lot of the family is in Mexico, trying to cope with what happened.
“It’s pretty difficult. Just dealing with the funeral and everything – having my sister in the hospital,” Alex said.
Cockfighting is illegal in many areas, however, it is a popular pastime in parts of Mexico. Despite this, they are usually held in secret.
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