Mexican ambush: Mormon families hold first funerals for victims gunned down in their cars

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Ellena Cruse8 November 2019

Hundreds of people have attended funerals for members of a Mormon community who were gunned down in Mexico on Monday.

Nine women and children were massacred when the three cars they were travelling in were ambushed shortly after leaving the La Mora ranch, a hamlet of about 300 people.

The first funerals were for three of the nine victims - Dawna Ray Langford and her sons, aged 11 and two.

Around 500 people congregated under white tents to pay their respects as soldiers guarded the entrance. The other victims are expected to be buried later.

Investigations by Mexican authorities suggest the attack was a case of mistaken identity by a drugs cartel, however, the victims' family has disputed this.

The first funerals for the victims of the massacre have been held
AFP via Getty Images

On Monday morning, a group of three mothers and their 14 children set off in three cars from the La Mora ranch, to go to another Mormon settlement in neighbouring Chihuahua state.

But shortly after setting off, all three cars were ambushed at different points by gunmen near Bavispe.

Five of the victims, Rhonita Maria Miller, 30, and her children: eight-month-old twins Titus and Tiana, 12-year-old Howard Jr and 10-year-old Krystal - died after their car was targeted by gunmen. Their car then caught fire and exploded.

Ms Langford and her sons Trevor and Rogan, were killed in a second car. Christina Langford Johnson, 31, was killed in the third vehicle but her seven-month-old baby, Faith Langford, survived the attack after being found in a car seat on the floor.

Nine women and children were killed in the shooting
AFP via Getty Images

Ms Langford Johnson reportedly got out of the vehicle with her hands raised to ask the attackers to stop shooting but was gunned down, the BBC reported.

Ms Langford's 13-year-old son managed to escape their car with six of his siblings.

They hid in bushes before walking for six hours back to La Mora. Some of the children suffered bullet injuries.

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