KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Cass County in Missouri and Miami County in Kansas. He also covers agricultural topics. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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The U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico issued a shelter in place order across multiple regions of Mexico.
"Due to ongoing security operations and related road blockages and criminal activity, U.S. citizens in the named locations should shelter in place until further notice," the U.S. Embassy wrote in a release on Sunday.
A Kansas City Star sports columnist found himself among those in a lockdown situation on Sunday afternoon.
"We're not seeing much because we arrived at the airport about an hour ago," Vahe Gregorian told KSHB 41. "After a scary episode here, we discovered that we really couldn't get a Uber or taxi or go anywhere and our flight was canceled. Theoretically, we'll get on one tomorrow, but we don't know. We can't go anywhere from the airport and we're not sure it's safe to go anywhere."
The U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico has an advisory out for Tamaulipas State, Michoacan State, Guerrero State, Nuevo Leon State, and Jalisco State, including Puerto Vallarta, Chapala, and Guadalajara.
The Associated Press reporting on Sunday, the Mexican army killed the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, "El Mencho" — who leads what is considered as one of Mexico's mos powerful drug cartel.
Cars burned out by cartel members blocked roads at more than 250 points in up to 20 different Mexican states, according the Associated Press.
Guadalajara, Jalisco's capital city, was quiet on Sunday as locals sheltered in place. Schools were also canceled on Monday in multiple states.
Authorities reported at least 14 are dead, including seven National Guard troops.
"We've just stayed put. We've got several hundred people here in the airport," Gregorian explained. "We were starting to walk up back out of security to go try to talk to Southwest flight people, when hundreds of people started running our way. A lot of them kind of screaming and crying and clearly panicked. We didn't know why. We still don't know why."
Gregorian explained on his way to the airport he saw multiple vehicles that had been burned.
At one point, the entire airport was evacuated onto the tarmac — they have since been let back inside.
"We've been here maybe six or seven times. We are always are so struck by how serene and welcoming a place is," he said. "This just came out of the blue."
Gregorian went on to add that he and his wife are making the most of the downtime in the airport. While on the phone, he explained his wife was helping another woman take care of her baby.
"The whole last eight to 10 hours has been a bit of an out of body experience as you might guess," he added. "A lot of people are kind of bonding with each other... Good spirits here."
Gregorian has a flight home to Kansas City scheduled for Monday.
The Kansas City Department of Aviation released a statement to KSHB 41 on Sunday stating, "Kansas City Department of Aviation staff are monitoring the situation and staying in touch with our airline partners. As of now, tomorrow’s flight from Cancun is still scheduled as planned. We encourage travelers who are headed to Mexico to keep an eye on their flight status via their airline."
As of Sunday night, Gregorian explained the airport he's in is quiet and no planes currently sit on the tarmac.
He's remaining optimistic he will get back home on Monday.
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