A husband who lost his wife and two children in the horrific attack on a Mormon family in Mexico has spoken out about the devastating ordeal.
“My whole life has turned upside down,” David Langford told ABC News. “Not only have I lost a wife and two children, but I’m having to move the rest of my family with really no place to go at this point.”
Langford’s 13-year-old son, Devin, survived the attack and was heralded as a hero for seeking help for his fellow family members. The youngster came out of the attack unscathed and managed to walk some 14 miles to seek help after hiding his injured siblings among the bushes.
“Every one of my children that survived that are living miracles,” David explained. “How many bullet holes were fired into that vehicle … at that horrific scene and how many children were involved. It’s amazing. It’s amazing. It’s beyond amazing that they survived.”
Langford went on to describe Devin as a “hero” because he “gave his life for his brothers and sisters.”
Photo by Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images
Nine people were shot dead when suspected drug cartel gunmen opened fire on the family’s convoy of cars as they traveled in Northern Mexico on November 4. Police still believe that the cartel may have mistake the family for a rival drug gang.
As for how he feels towards the murderers themselves, Langford said he always seeks to forgive but that he also believes there should be consequences for such heinous actions.
“I believe in forgiveness, but I also believe in justice and forgiveness doesn’t rob justice,” he added. “You don’t get justice too much in Mexico.”
Jailing murderers is extremely uncommon in the cartel-controlled region, with multiple homicides taking place every single day. Indeed, in the state of Sonora, where the attack took place, the rate of impunity stands at between 70-80%.
Yesterday, the Mexican government extended a formal invitation to the FBI to help with their investigation.
According to USA Today, Mexico’s Security and Citizen Protection Secretariat and Foreign Relations Secretariat noted that the FBI would be invited to “accompany” investigators from the federal prosecutor’s and would be “providing assistance at the invitation of the Mexican government with the investigation into the recent attack against American citizens.”
They also noted that the FBI agents would be “unarmed” and be performing “certain binational, technical support activities.”
Much of the family affected by the killings have started to leave the region. On Sunday, the Associated Press reported that an 18-vehicle caravan was spotted ferrying roughly 100 members of the La Mora community back into the United States.
“It’s not worth living in fear,” Langford said. “The toughest part for me was saying goodbye … saying goodbye to two innocent lives that were cut short and a vibrant wife that lived a life to its fullest that had many friends and and was loved by all by everybody.”