The FBI is searching for four United States citizens who have been kidnapped in Mexico.
Last week, the group traveled into Matamoros in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas, which is just south of Brownsville, Texas, in a white minivan with North Carolina plates, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City said Sunday.
Shortly after they crossed into Mexico, the embassy said unidentified gunmen shot the passengers of the vehicle, whose identities have been not revealed.
The alleged suspect then moved the four Americans into another vehicle, before fleeing the scene with them, per the embassy.
Tamaulipas state police said that people had been killed and injured on Friday, but did not provide a specific number, the Associated Press reported.
“All four Americans were placed in a vehicle and taken from the scene by armed men,” the FBI San Antonio Division office said, per AP, which added that gun violence in Matamoros was so bad last week that the U.S. Consulate had to issue an alert about it.
The FBI is now asking for the public’s help in identifying who might be responsible for the kidnapping and is offering a $50,000 reward, the embassy said.
Those with information tied to the crime can contact the FBI’s San Antonio Division at 210-225-6741.
