On Monday afternoon, the Langford children watched as their mother and two of their siblings were shot dead in an attack. The surviving Langfords, as old as 14 and as young as 8 months, survived on their own for hours as one of them made a nearly 14-mile journey on foot to get help, family members said.
They had left their northern Mexico enclave of La Mora that morning as part of a three-car caravan, each vehicle carrying a different family. The travelers — all extended members of the LeBaron clan of fundamentalist Mormons that hold dual U.S.-Mexico citizenship — drove together for protection on Sonora’s rural roads. But that day, the precautions weren’t enough.
Authorities have provided scarce details of the attack, but family members of the victims, many communicating via Facebook and WhatsApp, described the shooting and its aftermath.
Attackers besieged the three vehicles with bullets and fire Monday, authorities said, killing nine and wounding several children. One of the cars, carrying Rhonita Maria Miller, 30, and four children, including 8-month-old twins, was set aflame by attackers. By the time the charred remains of the vehicle were found by rescuers, only bones and ash remained. Farther up the road, Christina Johnson, 31, was in another vehicle, along with her baby. Johnson was shot to death, but her 7-month-old infant survived and was found strapped to her car seat.