13-year-old American shot and killed by gunmen in Mexico as family returned home from vacation

An American family returning home to the U.S. from vacation was attacked Saturday night by Mexican gunmen just south of the U.S-Mexico border near Texas, resulting in the death of a 13-year-old boy.

His parents and a third victim were also wounded in the attack, The Associated Press reported.

The family was reportedly returning home to Oklahoma in a Chevrolet SUV after visiting relatives in San Luis Potosi.

According to the attorney general's office in Tamaulipas, Mexico, the boy was a U.S. citizen and the parents were permanent U.S. residents.

The attorney general's office has not released the names of the victims, however, some outlets are reporting the 13-year-old as Oscar Castillo López and his parents as Juanita Castillo López and José Silva Mendoza. The third wounded victim is said to be a 10-year-old.

The attack occurred on a notoriously high risk stretch of highway on the banks of the Rio Grande just across the border from Falcon Heights, Texas, an area disputed by criminal groups such as the Gulf Cartel and Zetas.

Local Spanish news site El Diario has identified the attackers as drug traffickers from the Cártel del Noreste.

Another American family was attacked just two months earlier

The shooting Saturday night is reminiscent of a highway ambush carried out by Mexican cartels in November that left at least nine Americans, including six children, dead.

Among the dead were 8-month-old twins, a relative of the victims said.

In response to the attack, President Trump called for "WAR" against Mexican drug cartels.

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