A female vice principal was killed and three people were wounded in an attack at Escuela Secundaria General Número 13 in the ejido La Unión, in the municipality of Torreón, Coahuila, on Thursday, 1 October 2026. Two 18-year-old brothers who had previously attended the school were detained, authorities said.
Federico Fernández Montañez, the general prosecutor of the State of Coahuila, said the former students attacked school administrators and pupils after arriving at the campus. “arrive and attack administrative authorities of the institution, as well as some students; unfortunately a female person, subdirectora of the campus, loses her life”, he said.
The assailants used machetes and explosive devices including firecrackers, according to the information confirmed by the prosecutor. At least five people were attacked with machetes. Three people received medical attention for injuries, including a student who was in serious condition after losing a hand.
The precise range of weapons used has yet to be established. Initial reports referred to gunfire and people hurt by firearms. Later accounts from the area and local media said the attack involved machetes, molotov cocktails and firecrackers.
Parents gathered outside the school as the incident unfolded. Municipal police, Fiscalía personnel, Protección Civil and other emergency services attended the site, while students were secured during the response.
The two brothers were placed at the disposal of authorities after their detention. The motive for the attack, the full sequence of events and the identities of the wounded have not been established in the information released so far.
Mexico’s Government Security Cabinet said it was working with state and municipal authorities in Coahuila to clarify what happened and determine responsibility.
The attack follows other episodes of violence at Mexican schools. On 24 March, a 15-year-old killed two teachers with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle at Preparatoria Antón Makárenko in Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán.
In January 2020, an 11-year-old student killed a teacher and wounded six other people at Colegio Cervantes in Torreón before committing suicide. The latest attack again brought students, teachers and school administrators into immediate danger, while families waited outside the campus for information.
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