American Man Among Those Shot Dead by Mexican Army in Nuevo Laredo

A 21-year-old American man was among the five men shot dead by the Mexican army in the border city of Nuevo Laredo over the weekend. According to Daily Mail, Gustavo Suarez and seven other men were returning from a night out at a club when their pickup truck was shot in the early hours of Sunday.

The other dead victims were identified as Wilberto Mata, Gustavo Perez, Jonathan Aguilar, and Alejandro Trujillo. Luis Gerardo, the sixth victim, reportedly remained in serious condition at a local hospital after he was shot twice.

Alejandro Perez, the seventh person in the vehicle who was not harmed, told Univision that he saw one of the Mexican soldiers shoot and kill his brother, Gustavo Perez. Alejandro said they told the army troops they were not carrying anything and did not have firearms.

The surviving victim also disclosed that the soldiers forced him to make a videotaped confession, in which he had to say that the group was responsible for being shot at by the military troops who threatened him. Alejandro said the soldiers told him that if he wanted to live, he must say, "we were at fault."

Raymundo Ramos, head of the Nuevo Laredo Human Rights Committee, told the Daily Mail that 12 soldiers were present during the shooting, and four confessed to firing their weapons. However, none of the Mexican soldiers have been taken into custody.

Mexico Army Confirms 5 Civilians Killed by Mexican Soldiers in Nuevo Laredo

The Defense Department in Mexico confirmed Tuesday that Mexican soldiers fired shots at a pickup truck in Nuevo Laredo, killing five men and injuring another.

In a statement, the department said soldiers heard gunshots and approached the pickup with no license plates, but the occupants of the pickup sped up in a "brusque and evasive way" when they saw the army troops.

The Mexican soldiers said the speeding vehicle then crashed into a parked vehicle, and when they heard the crash, they started shooting. The soldiers did not say if they thought the loud noise was a gunshot.

The department was reportedly cooperating with civilian prosecutors to investigate the deaths. In a state crime scene report acquired by The Associated Press on Monday, the Mexican soldiers said the pickup truck ignored their orders to stop.

In a separate statement, the activist group Nuevo Laredo Human Rights Committee noted that the shooting incident sparked a scuffle between soldiers and a big crowd of angry residents who believed the victims were not armed, so "there was no reason to arbitrarily kill them in this way."

Videos of Mexican Army Shooting Quickly Spread Online, Father of American Man Fights

Videos of the clash that quickly spread on social media showed a street brawl between residents and Mexican soldiers near the bullet-ridden pickup truck. Some residents can be seen throwing punches, knocking a soldier to the ground, and repeatedly kicking him.

Toward the end of that incident, Al Jazeera reported that shots were heard, and people started running, but it is unclear who fired them. Video footage also showed the American man's father lunging at a soldier while the military tried to remove the pickup truck from the scene.

Raymundo Ramos has accused the Mexican army of firing into the crowd but with no immediate information about any additional casualties. Ramos also previously said that among those killed were teens who had only returned from a night out at a club when they were shot. However, Nuevo Laredo Mayor Carmen Lilia Canturosas said Monday that none of the victims were minors.

She added that the Mexican army, the National Human Rights Commission, and the Attorney General's Office were already investigating the case and collecting evidence.

According to the state crime scene report, three bodies were found in the pickup truck, while two were discovered on the sidewalk nearby. Such reports usually cite the weapons found at a crime scene, but no mention was made in any of the cases.

The state crime scene report noted that a Texas-issued identification document was discovered on one of the bodies. However, the U.S. Embassy has yet to confirm if it was from Gustavo Suarez.

The Nuevo Laredo Human Rights Committee announced Monday that it had filed a complaint with federal prosecutors on behalf of the victims and their relatives.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Locals Fight With Mexican Soldiers After Killing of Five Men - From Al Jazeera English