Unknown Gunmen kidnap 16 from Luxury Restaurant

Mexican authorities were searching Monday for as many as 16 people who were abducted by gunmen from an upscale restaurant in the resort city of Puerto Vallarta.

The mass kidnapping from the La Leche restaurant, located on the main drag of the city’s hotel district, happened around 1 a.m. local time, authorities said.

“According to witnesses from the place, several gunmen arrived to the place aboard a Toyota Tacoma and Chevrolet Suburban, who deprived the freedom of a group of people who were at the site,” Jalisco Attorney General Eduardo Almaguer said in statement translated by NBC News.

When police arrived, they found a Dodge Challenger, a Jeep Limited, a Land Rover, a Cadillac Escalade, and Honda CRV that may belong to the abducted patrons, the statement said.

Mexican media said as many as 16 people were abducted, but authorities did not immediately confirm that number, the Associated Press reported.

In a series of tweets aimed at residents and tourists, Jalisco Governor Aristotle Sandoval said “the events that occurred at dawn in Puerto Vallarta cannot be allowed or tolerated.”

“We will not allow them to rob us of our tranquility,” Sandoval wrote.