Mexican authorities have identified a woman who was killed by a stray bullet at a popular Mexican beach resort Feb. 9 as Niko Honarbakhsh, 44, originally from California.
The incident appears to be a dispute between drug dealers at a popular beach club in the Mexican resort city of Tulum, on the eastern part of the Yucatan peninsula, according to authorities. The coastline tourist zone is lined with upscale clubs and eateries.
Ms. Honarbakhsh was originally from Los Angeles but living in Cancun, according to news reports. She was watching the sunset at the beach club with her dogs when she was struck by a stray bullet, a witness told the Daily Mail.
A Belize man suspected of drug dealing was also shot and killed, according to local authorities.
The State Attorney General’s Office in Quintana Roo has opened a homicide investigation into the shooting, the office reported Feb. 11.
The victims are not related, according to authorities.
The man who died was allegedly a member of a crime operation from Belize and was identified for possible participation in the drug deal that led to the incident, the attorney general’s office reported.
He was found with transparent bags containing white powder consistent with cocaine, red and orange pills, and a bag of brown granulated powder, according to the attorney general’s office.
Suspects in the shooting were identified by authorities and were being sought.
