An American woman celebrating her first wedding anniversary in Mexico City has died after being shot by a stray bullet as she walked out of a taco restaurant.
Tatiana Mirutenko, 27, was walking out of El Califa, a taco restaurant in the Lomas de Chapultepec neighborhood, at 5.50am on Monday when she was shot by one of two men on a motorcycle who opened fire from the road in an attempt to kill a bouncer.
The pharmaceuticals analyst from San Francisco was in Mexico with her husband James Hoover to celebrate their first year of marriage.
They were traveling with two other couples and had two friends with them when she was shot in the head.
Tatiana Mirutenko, 27, was killed when she was shot in the head by a stray bullet during an anniversary trip to Mexico City with her husband of one year, James Hoover, on Monday. They are pictured together on their wedding day last year
The shooting took place in an upscale neighborhood of the tourist-friendly city and is popular with visitors.
Mexican authorities say the 47-year-old man who was being targeted was injured but survived.
Mirutenko’s family are now grieving her death.
‘A year ago, we were selecting flowers for the wedding.
‘Today we were looking at flowers for the funeral,’ her heartbroken father Wasyl told ABC.
Tatiana was walking out of El Califa, a taco restaurant in the tourist-friendly neighborhood of
‘She would give 200 percent. As a mother, we always say things, but she inspired me to be better.
‘I’d give my life if she could just come back,’ her mother Natalie added.
Her body will be flown from Mexico back to Chicago, where she will be buried, on Tuesday.
According to colleagues at Nektar Therapeutics, where she worked, Mirutenko was a rising star.
Tatiana and her husband were traveling with two other couples in Mexico City. The couple lived in San Francisco Lomas de Chapultepec
Tatiana’s grieving parents Natalie (left) and Wasyl (right) lamented on Tuesday that a year ago they were picking flowers for her wedding whereas now they must choose wreaths for her funeral
They described her ‘incredible work ethic’ and passion for her job as news of her death emerged on Monday.
Her death is the latest in dozens this year across the country which have prompted warnings from the US government to tourists.
Since March, the State Department has told US citizens not to travel to four Mexican states because of the high levels of violent crime found in each.
They are Colima, Guerrero, Michoacan, Sinaloa and Tamaulipas.
Mexico City is the capital of the State of Mexico. Travel there has not been banned but tourists are being told to reconsider visiting the city for the same reasons.
All travel to the tourist Mecca state Quintana Roo is allowed but visitors are told to exercise increased caution.
The same applies for the Baja California Sur region on the west coast which takes in Los Cabos.
The State Department is advising tourists to reconsider travel to Mexico State, where Mexico City is (shown in orange, center). Four states are under a ‘do not travel’ advisory (red) and tourists to the Baja California Sur and Quintana Roo regions (yellow) are warned to exercise increased caution