A lone gunman has attacked Blue Parrot night club in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, in the early hours of this morning, Monday January 16.

The shooting took place during one of the closing parties for The BPM Festival, which was curated by Spanish promoters, and Mixmag's Club Of The Year in 2016, Elrow. Sidney Charles, Santé and Technasia were all on the line-up.

The festival confirmed to Mixmag that four people have died, with 12 suffering injuries. Three of those dead were members of the BPM security team.



Since then, Mexican media outlet Milenio TV has confirmed that the toll has risen to five deaths and 15 injuries. It also reports that local police chief Rodolfo del Angel reckons the shooting was the result of an altercation inside the club. There is also speculation the incident may have been gang related.

Mixmag's US Digital Editor Valerie Lee was at the venue and reported that "at least four to five shots were fired". She also reported that security guards at the venue initially thought the sound of gun shots were fireworks and that she had to hide under a table until an exit from the club was clear.

According to Lee, the shooter did not enter the venue and the local police took 10 minutes to arrive at the scene.

Truesoul artist Sidney Charles was playing when the shooting occurred, but has declared himself and his friends "safe".



A statement made by festival organisers says: "The BPM Festival has been working closely with the local authorities (Seguridad Publica / Policia Turistica) throughout the festival to ensure public safety and security for all visitors.

"We are overcome with grief over this senseless act of violence and we are cooperating fully with local law enforcement and government officials as they continue their investigation. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the victims and their families and all those affected by these tragic events."

Although there were initial reports of a second shooting at another venue, The Jungle, BPM Festival has confirmed to Mixmag that an incident did not occur there.

On social media, Jackmaster was one of the first DJs to tweet about the attack, advising everyone attending BPM to stay in their hotels. BPM issued a statement on Twitter to say all its parties had been shut down as police investigations had begun, but the tweets have since been deleted.

According to Italian publication Techno Experience, Blue Parrot, where the Elrow closing party was taking place, was the only venue at the festival without metal detectors.

Read an eye witness account of the shooting at Blue Parrot here and see tweets from Jackmaster, Mixmag staff and Sidney Charles below.



This story is being updated as more details come in