Mexico School Machete Attack in Torreón Kills Deputy Head, Wounds Four
MEXICO · COAHUILA · SECURITY
Key Facts
- —The country Mexico is the second most populous country in Latin America, after Brazil. Torreón is an industrial city of more than 700,000 people in Coahuila, a northern state that borders Texas.
- —The background Torreón has lived through a school attack before. In January 2020 an 11-year-old shot dead his teacher at a private school, wounded six people and then killed himself.
- —Why now On the morning of Thursday 1 October 2026, two former pupils returned to their old school, Secondary School No. 13 in La Unión, a farming community inside Torreón’s municipality.
- —What happened At about 8:45 a.m. the 18-year-old twin brothers attacked staff and pupils with machetes and other blades and set off firecrackers. The deputy head, aged 56, was killed and four people were wounded, two of them seriously.
- —Who is who Federico Fernández Montañez, Coahuila’s attorney general, says both brothers are in custody, no firearms were used and the preliminary motive was resentment against the school.
- —What it means for you If you are in Torreón, the teachers’ union asked for blood donors of any type at the Sanatorio Español hospital on Friday 2 October, from 7:30 to 11 a.m.
- —Still open Whether anyone helped the brothers, whether a TikTok video attributed to one of them is genuine, and which charges a judge will accept.
A machete attack at a school in Torreón, northern Mexico, killed the deputy head and wounded four people on Thursday 1 October.
Two 18-year-old twin brothers, both former pupils, were held by local residents until police arrived. Coahuila’s state prosecutor says they acted out of resentment against the school and admired attackers abroad.
What happened at Secondary School No. 13
The attack began at about 8:45 a.m. at the Escuela Secundaria General No. 13, a public secondary school. It stands in La Unión, an ejido, or communal farming settlement, within the municipality of Torreón.
The school has 210 pupils, and about 170 attended that day because of rain, the news site Infobae reported. The attack came during the change between lessons.
The brothers walked in through the main entrance carrying machetes and other blades, and set off firecrackers. The state prosecutor later ruled out firearms and said the bangs came from firecrackers, not real explosives.
A pupil told Infobae and the Coahuila daily Vanguardia that the attackers shouted “We are going for all the women”. Pupils ran to lock themselves inside their classrooms.
Local residents chased and held the brothers until police and soldiers arrived, the national daily La Jornada reported. Both were handed to the public prosecutor’s office.
The victims
The deputy head, Nedi Edith Nevárez González, was killed, the local daily El Siglo de Torreón reported. She was 56, according to La Jornada.
Four people were wounded, two of them seriously, the prosecutor said on Thursday afternoon. Infobae reported that a 13-year-old pupil lost his left hand and that a Spanish teacher, Ricardo Quintanar, was badly hurt.
On Thursday evening, Section 35 of the SNTE, Mexico’s national teachers’ union, appealed “de manera urgente”, urgently, for blood donors. The appeal named the teacher and a wounded pupil being treated at the Sanatorio Español, a private hospital in Torreón.
Coahuila’s governor, Manolo Jiménez Salinas, sent his condolences. He ordered the state’s government, education and public security departments to work together on the investigation.
The SEP, Mexico’s federal education ministry, condemned “los reprobables hechos”, the reprehensible events, and offered support to the school community.
What the prosecutor says about the motive
Federico Fernández Montañez, Coahuila’s attorney general, called the attack “una agresión brutal”, a brutal assault. He gave the preliminary motive as “un tema de sentimientos contra el plantel”, feelings against the school.
He said the brothers referred to people “from other latitudes” who had carried out similar attacks in other parts of the world. They spoke of wanting to belong to groups and of idolising figures “that are not even national figures”, he added.
No single person was targeted, according to the prosecutor; the school was chosen because it was close to the brothers’ home. He found no sign of drug use, and their electronic devices have been seized.
Vanguardia reported a TikTok post attributed to one of the twins, captioned “Ya me toca a mí”, or “It’s my turn now”. Posted on 30 September, it shows blades and references against women; the authorities have not confirmed it is genuine.
Infobae reported that the case is being pursued as homicide and aggravated assault, which could mean over 50 years in prison. The prosecutor promised that “todo el peso de la ley”, the full weight of the law, would fall on them.
Torreón has been here before
In January 2020 an 11-year-old boy brought two guns into the private Colegio Cervantes in Torreón. He killed his teacher, wounded five classmates and a sports teacher, and then shot himself, according to the business magazine Expansión.
That attack used guns inside a primary school; this one used blades and firecrackers. In 2020 the state governor pointed to a violent video game; this time the prosecutor points to foreign attackers the twins admired.
Violence touching young people has been in the news elsewhere in Mexico, too. On 26 September two state university high school students were shot dead in Cuernavaca, south of Mexico City.
What comes next
The brothers must now appear before a judge, who will decide whether there is enough evidence to put them on trial. Investigators are also examining their phones and social media accounts for any help or encouragement from others.
The prosecutor’s account of the motive is preliminary, and the TikTok video has not been authenticated. Nothing reported so far links the attack to organised crime. The prosecutor said there was no sign of a similar risk to other schools in Coahuila.
What held on Thursday was the community: neighbours stopped the attackers before the police arrived. Teachers have since asked the city to give blood for a wounded colleague and pupil.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Torreón?
Torreón is an industrial city of more than 700,000 people in the state of Coahuila, in northern Mexico. It is the main city of the La Laguna metropolitan area, home to about 1.4 million people.
Were guns used in the Torreón school attack?
No. Coahuila’s attorney general said the attackers used machetes and other blades and set off firecrackers. No firearms or real explosives were found.
Who were the attackers?
Two 18-year-old twin brothers who had studied at the school and live nearby. Both were detained on 1 October and handed to the public prosecutor; investigators are checking whether anyone helped them.
How can people help the victims?
Section 35 of the SNTE teachers’ union asked for blood donors of any type at the Sanatorio Español in Torreón on Friday 2 October, from 7:30 to 11 a.m., for a wounded teacher and pupil.
Sources: El Siglo de Torreón, 1 October 2026, La Jornada, 1 October 2026, La Silla Rota, 1 October 2026, El Financiero, 1 October 2026, Vanguardia, prosecutor’s briefing, 1 October 2026, Vanguardia, TikTok video, 1–2 October 2026, Vanguardia, blood appeal, 1 October 2026, Infobae, 2 October 2026, El Heraldo de México live blog with the SEP statement, 1 October 2026, Expansión Política, 10 January 2020, Wikipedia, Torreón population data. All retrieved 2 October 2026.
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