US Embassy warns of mass shooting threat in Honduras

TEGUCIGALPA: The US Embassy in Honduras issued a warning on Tuesday about the threat of a mass shooting at three potential targets in the capital, including a school, a shopping mall and a government complex.

The warning posted to the embassy's account on X said it had received information that the attacks could occur on Tuesday and on May 16. It warned US citizens to avoid the locations. "The three target locations mentioned are the Elliot Dover Christian School in Tegucigalpa, the Centro Civico in Tegucigalpa, and an unnamed mall in Tegucigalpa," the warning said. "The Embassy is required by US law to disseminate this message for all US citizens." There was no indication that US citizens would be specifically targeted, the embassy said. The US embassy said it did not have more information. Honduras' Police Director Juan Manuel Aguilar Godoy downplayed the warning and said it should not cause alarm. "It is only an alert," he said on local radio, adding that the information had come from the FBI and that Honduran authorities had also been informed. "The FBI is obligated, according to United States guidelines, to advise its citizens," he said.

Honduras Foreign Affairs Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina said on X that the administration had considered the information "responsibly and diligently regardless of its veracity or possibility." Reina said the warning came in an election year. He said the government would do everything possible to protect the public and the electoral process. National elections are scheduled for November 30.