MATAMOROS, Tamaulipas – A kidnapping attempt-turned-shootout in the parking lot of a local shopping mall left pools of blood and two adult men abducted, according to eyewitnesses.

The shooting took place late last week in the parking lot of the local HEB shopping plaza when a group of men pulled up to two other men and tried to take them at gunpoint. Despite local authorities’ silence on the case, various shoppers said the two victims who were described as approximately 40-years-old who tried to fight off the attacks.

After the two victims sustained various gunshot wounds, the abductors dragged them into their SUVs and fled the area at a high rate of speed, leaving pools of blood from where they dragged the victims. Inside the shopping center, stores triggered a partial lockdown to protect customers and block gunmen from the sales floors.

Authorities did not respond to the scene. Store employees later washed out the pools of blood and any other evidence. Unconfirmed information suggests one of the victims is a leading member within the Gulf Cartel. No formal complaints or missing person reports connected to the case are currently filed.

Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to the Mexican States of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by “J.A. Espinoza” from Tamaulipas.