Relatives of an Irishman shot dead in an incident at a petrol station in Mexico are travelling to the Pacific south-west of the country to repatriate his remains.
Noel Maguire, originally from Co Louth, was shot during what was reported as a carjacking near the port city of Lázaro Cárdenas in Michoacán state, which has been the focus of some of Mexico's most intense drugs violence.
Mr Maguire and his girlfriend, who is from Tucson, Arizona, were reported to have asked for directions at the petrol station when they were confronted by armed men who demanded the keys to their rented vehicle and her handbag.
Mr Maguire was said to have been defending his girlfriend when he was shot. The gunmen made their getaway in the couple’s vehicle and Mr Maguire was pronounced dead at the scene.
Michoacán State Attorney General José Martín Godoy Castro said police were trying to trace the stolen vehicle.
Mr Maguire’s family is understood to have moved to the UK when he was younger and his parents are based there.
Passport
The 29-year-old was travelling on an Irish passport but using a British driving licence. Irish authorities in Mexico were contacted following the incident on Tuesday.
The Department of Foreign Affairs is providing consular assistance to Mr Maguire’s family and liaising with local police who have opened a murder inquiry. His girlfriend was treated at a local hospital for minor injuries.
Louth Fine Gael TD Fergus O'Dowd said "it's a tragic situation, an appalling thing to happen on holidays. Everybody is thinking of his family at such a sad time."
Michoacán state is described as the birthplace of Mexico’s ferocious drugs war that has rocked the country and resulted in hundreds of deaths.
The state is described as one of the biggest processors and exporters of metamphetamine to the United States, through Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico’s largest and most important port.