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Topics: Crime, US News, World News
Emily Brown
Two Americans are being treated in hospital and two others have died after being kidnapped by armed gunmen in Mexico.
Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown, Latavia Washington McGee and Eric Williams have been named as those involved in the kidnapping, which took place on Friday (3 March) in the Mexico border city of Matamoros.
The American citizens had been driving across the border from Texas so McGee could undergo a medical procedure when unidentified gunmen opened fire, and they were loaded into a pickup truck by armed men.
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Officials say the kidnappers then transferred the victims to various locations to 'create confusion and avoid rescue efforts', but they were found yesterday (7 March) in a wooden shack outside Matamoros.
The FBI confirmed two Americans had been found dead; who were later named as Woodard and Brown.
McGee, a mother of six from South Carolina, and Williams were transferred to American hospitals for treatment, with the FBI stating that 'one of the surviving victims sustained serious injuries during the attack'.
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Williams' wife, Michele Williams, told CNN her husband had been shot twice in one leg and once in the other.
John Kirby, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, commented: "We offer our deepest condolences to the friends and families of those who were killed in these attacks."
US state department officials said on Tuesday that the investigation was still in the early stages, but it is thought the kidnapping may have been the result of a mistaken identity.
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A US law enforcement source told CBS investigators believe the Gulf Cartel, one of Mexico's oldest organised crime groups, may have been responsible for the attack.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said: "We are very sorry that this happened in our country and we send our condolences to the families of the victims, friends, and the United States government, and we will continue doing our work to guarantee peace and tranquillity."
As well as the two Americans who lost their lives, Tamaulipas Gov. Américo Villarreal said an innocent Mexican bystander had been killed in the attack after being hit by a stray bullet almost a block and a half from where the Americans were kidnapped.
A 24-year-old man from Tamaulipas has been arrested in relation to the kidnapping, and the FBI has said it will work with international partners and other law enforcement agencies to 'hold those responsible for this horrific and violent attack accountable for their crimes'.