By Chantal Da Silva -
NBC News
Authorities were searching Tuesday for four Americans who were shot and kidnapped by gunmen shortly after they crossed the border into Mexico last Friday as more information about the victims is released.
The FBI has offered a $50,000 reward for the safe return of the four Americans, who were kidnapped Friday after entering Matamoros, Tamaulipas, south of Brownsville, Texas.
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The kidnapping was caught on video as it occurred, a law enforcement source with knowledge of the matter confirmed to NBC News.
Dramatic images are seen in which an armed man drags these people towards a white van.
Authorities have yet to identify the missing Americans.
LaTavia Washington McGee.WMBF
However, one of the victims was identified as
LaTavia Washington McGee
by her cousin, Aliyah McCleod, who serves as a spokesperson for the family.
McCleod said the group was from South Carolina but was traveling in a rental vehicle with North Carolina license plates when they entered Matamoros.
The FBI had confirmed that the group was traveling in a white minivan with North Carolina license plates.
McCleod said the group had traveled to Mexico for a
"medical procedure
. "
He said his family was pleading for the safe return of the group.
A law enforcement official with knowledge of the matter said a woman in the group had been seeking a cosmetic medical procedure.
According to them, gunmen from a cartel had attacked the group in a case of mistaken identity.
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Zalandria Brown, of Florence, South Carolina, told The Associated Press news agency that her younger brother, Zindell Brown, was also among the four victims.
She said that she had contacted the FBI and local authorities after learning that her brother had been kidnapped.
"
It's like a nightmare you wish you could wake up from
," he told the news agency.
“Seeing a family member being dragged and thrown into the back of a truck is just unconscionable,” she added.
On video: This was the rescue of 343 migrants who were crammed into a trailer in Mexico
March 7, 202300:23
Zalandria Brown said her brother, who lives in Myrtle Beach, had been on the trip to accompany a friend who
was traveling to Mexico for a procedure
.
At a press briefing in Washington on Monday, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre stated that the Biden Administration was "closely following the assault and kidnapping of four US citizens."
“These kinds of attacks are unacceptable,” he said, adding that US security forces were in contact with Mexican authorities, as were the State and Homeland Security departments.
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“We will continue to coordinate with Mexico and press them to bring those responsible to justice,” Jean-Pierre said.
US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said in a statement Monday that an "innocent Mexican citizen was tragically murdered" during the kidnapping.
Mexican army soldiers prepare a search mission for four US citizens kidnapped by gunmen in Matamoros, Mexico, Monday, March 6, 2023.STR / AP
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador told a daily news conference that the Americans were in the country to buy medicine, a common practice for people looking for cheaper drugs across the southern border.
The FBI and Mexican security forces are investigating the events, and the FBI has asked the public for information that could lead to arrests.
Anyone with information is urged to call the FBI's San Antonio branch at 210-225-6741.
The State Department has
a "Do Not Travel" warning
for the state of Tamaulipas due to "crime and kidnapping."
He said organized crime activity, including shootings, armed robberies and kidnappings, are common along the northern border and in Ciudad Victoria.
“Criminal groups attack public and private passenger buses, as well as private cars traveling through Tamaulipas, often taking passengers and demanding ransom payments,” the warning says.
