Two Arizona residents killed after armed attack on Mexican highway near southern border

An investigation is underway after two Arizona women were found shot to death in an overturned vehicle on a dangerous stretch of highway in northern Mexico.

The women, known only by their last names and ages, were 72 and 82 years old, the attorney general’s office for the state of Sonora said in a press release posted on social media on Friday.

The victims were originally from Caborca, Mexico, further to the southeast, and held dual U.S. and Mexican citizenship.

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A Mexican National Guard soldier and an Army soldier hold a sign reading “Mexican Army” in front of a pickup truck believed to be involved in the deaths of two Arizona residents in Sonora, Mexico. (Attorney General Sonora)

According to the attorney general’s office, investigators from the Mexican National Guard and army recovered a stolen Ford F-150 and an AK-47, as well as ammunition believed to be linked to the killings.

Investigators found a stolen Ford F-150 believed to be connected to the killings. (Attorney General Sonora)

“Security forces from three levels of government immediately launched an operation to locate and arrest the criminal group responsible, with the support of specialized air and ground forces,” prosecutors in the state of Sonora said.

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Sonora and the Sonoyta-Caborca ​​Highway are known for violence and human trafficking.

Investigators also found an AK-47 and ammunition. (Office of the Attorney General in Sonora)

In June 2023, a California student doing horticulture research in Sonora was found shot seven times in an SUV. In December, two U.S. residents and one U.S. citizen were shot by gunmen while driving on a highway in Sonora. One of the men was killed, the Arizona Daily Star reported.

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The state was once ruled by notorious drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who was arrested in 2016 and is serving a life sentence in Colorado. Three drug cartels are still at war in Sonora.

The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.