A Scots mum has told how a ‘holiday of a lifetime’ turned into a living nightmare after a man was shot in the face just yards away from their luxury resort in Mexico. Tracey Campbell and her children Chloe, 16, and Louis, 14, are now traumatised after witnessing the horrific incident while staying at the Riu Dunamar Hotel, near Cancun.
The 55-year-old claims the injured man was ‘paraded’ past horrified hotel guests with blood dripping from a large hole in his face after being blasted on the nearby Costa Mujeres beach. The mum-of-two, who was joined by pal Sandra Drummond and her daughter Darcy, 15, had hoped the holiday would bring some welcome relief after a difficult 12 months.
But their £5600 trip ended in tears with all three children haunted by the shooting on June 12. Tracey, from Rutherglen, explained: “The reason we booked the holiday was because I had just got over having a stroke and having surgery on an artery in my neck.
“It was meant to be a great holiday for us to get away and chill out. My friend Sandra, who booked up to come with us, had just lost a loved one and had had a terrible year. It was going to be his birthday while we were away so I suggested that she come with us.
“It was meant to be a holiday of a lifetime but it turned into absolute hell. I’ve now got a 14-year-old boy who is struggling to sleep because he’s still so terrified that it could’ve been him or us that got shot.
“On the day, we had breakfast as normal and went to the pool which is practically on the beach. Sandra and I were sitting on the lilo beds and I heard this really loud bang. I thought it was something over at the BBQ grill - like they had dropped a keg or something at one of the bars.
“I wasn’t really that alarmed about it until the kids came running up screaming and crying. A woman stood up behind us and shouted: ‘that guy’s just been shot in the face’. Within seconds, there was another guy who appeared and said the bullet had just whizzed by his ear.
“He was crying and his kids and wife were in a terrible state. There were about a dozen people gathered around the side where it happened. When the armed police arrived, we weren’t able to move away from where we were.
“The guy who had been shot in the face was paraded up by the pool where we were sitting with a big hole in the side of his face, with blood dripping everywhere and his eyes were bulging out of his head.”
After eventually being allowed to go back up to their rooms, the holiday-makers decided they wanted to go home and set about contacting their TUI rep. The hotel’s manager offered them a transfer to a different resort but Tracey claims they were initially told they would have to sign a form stating they wouldn’t tell anyone what they had seen.
She said: “I explained that the kids were terrified, didn’t want to leave the room and just wanted to go. The hotel manager said she had found us a different hotel but when we went downstairs, this big guy who worked there appeared with a letter and said we were going nowhere unless we signed this waiver that we wouldn’t tell anyone about what had happened.
“We refused to sign it so he told us to go back to our rooms. His behaviour was ridiculous. The kids were in a state. I spoke to the manager again and she made them type up different letters saying that we were going to a different hotel.
“We ended up staying in the other hotel room for the majority of the trip because the kids were too scared to go anywhere near the beach.” After returning to Scotland, Tracey contacted TUI to raise her concerns but claims she hasn’t received an apology or any compensation.
She added: “They sent me a leaflet with a number to phone to get the kids and ourselves to speak to someone for support. But my daughter, who was 16 when it happened, has become so introverted that it’s difficult to get her to speak to me, never-mind a stranger. My son is still struggling to sleep.
“TUI have just been so flippant about it all. We’ve not even had an apology because they say it was out-with their control what had happened and we should have checked the place before we went.
“I think we should be entitled to some form of compensation or another holiday for us not being able to enjoy the rest of our trip. But I’m just getting no further forward with them.”
After being contacted by the Daily Record, TUI confirmed that compensation would be paid out to Tracey. A spokesperson said: “We understand the incident encountered by Ms Campbell and her family will have been incredibly distressing, and can confirm it has been taken extremely seriously by both TUI and the Riu Dunamar Hotel.
“Following the incident, a TUI rep went to the resort to provide support to the families and immediately moved them to another hotel.
“TUI customer teams have been in contact with the families multiple times since they returned home and all those travelling were offered CCP. As additional compensation, the customers will receive a gesture of goodwill. Our team will be in touch with them directly to ensure compensation is received and provide any additional support needed.”
A spokesperson for the Riu Dunamar Hotel said: “Likewise, we understand that the incident witnessed by the Campbell family has been incredibly distressing. We immediately activated the protocol established in these cases and contacted the authorities, we cannot give more information about the matter since it is in the hands of the police.
"We’d like to reassure our customers that these kinds of incidents are very rare and that we are also constantly improving our processes with the authorities to ensure the comfort and safety of all of our guests and colleagues.”
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