Bodies of 5 Medical School Students Found Stuffed in Car on Dirt Road in Mexico

An investigation is underway after the bodies of five medical school students were found stuffed in a car on a rural dirt road in northern Mexico Sunday.

Authorities identified the victims as pediatric students Freire Ortega José Eduardo and Mateos Puente Pedro Francisco; surgery students Amoles Gasca Bryan Jesus and Orozco Mateos Jesús Virgilio; and Orozco Mateos Fabián, according to local news outlet Milenio.

The men — between the ages of 25 and 30 — were studying at the Latina University of Mexico in Celaya prior to their deaths, the outlet reported.

The victims died from apparent gunshot wounds to their heads and appeared to have suffered from assault, authorities said, according to the Mexico Daily News.

“Given the condemnable events that occurred in the Laja-Bajío region, where the lives of 5 young people have been cowardly taken, I have instructed the state security institutions to implement an exhaustive operation with the support of federal and municipal agencies to reinforce security in the region, and find those responsible as soon as possible,” Diego Sinhue Rodríguez, the governor of Guanajuato, announced on X. “These acts will not go unpunished.”

No arrests have been made, and a motive remains under investigation.

The area where the bodies were found has recently seen a series of crimes perpetrated by drug cartels, the Associated Press reported.