Teen Who Survived Cartel Attack Walked 14 Miles for Help

Relative says cartels had targeted the Mormon community before
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 6, 2019 5:01 AM CST
Updated Nov 6, 2019 6:57 AM CST
Relative: Mormons Were 'Burned Alive' in Mexico Attack
In this photo provided by the Sonora state Health Secretary, children of the extended LeBaron family, who were injured in an ambush are taken aboard a Mexican Air Force helicopter to be flown to the Mexico-US border.   (Sonora state Health Secretary via AP)

The nine American women and children massacred after an ambush in Mexico were "burned alive," a relative says. Alex LeBaron says the victims, who were traveling between the states of Sonora and Chihuahua, were shot in vehicles while driving. "Women and children were massacred, burned alive," LeBaron tells CNN. "Mothers were screaming for the fire to stop." Another relative, Kendra Lee Miller, says this is not the first time members of the breakaway Mormon community have been targeted. "Cartels have taken too many of our family members," says Miller, whose sister-in-law was killed. There is a cartel turf war in the area and authorities believe the group, which was traveling in three vehicles, was ambushed by Juarez cartel gunman who had entered Sinaloa cartel territory.

Miller tells AP that the seven of eight children who survived the attack managed to escape and hide in the brush, although some of them had bullet wounds. She says Devin Langford, 13, walked 14 miles back to the La Mora community for help. "After witnessing his mother and brothers being shot dead, Devin hid his six other siblings in the bushes and covered them with branches to keep them safe while he went for help," she says. "When he took too long to return, his 9-year-old sister left the remaining five to try again." The eighth survivor was a 7-month-old baby found unharmed in a car seat on the floor of a vehicle, ABC reports. LeBaron says the baby girl's mother, who was killed in the attack, had apparently placed her there to protect her. (President Trump has offered to help Mexico wipe out cartels.)

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