California couple shot and killed on vacation in Mexico

Gloria A., 50, and Rafael C., 53, were reportedly traveling in a black Ford pickup when they were gunned down on Wednesday night

Violent organized crime is an issue in the state of Michoacan (pictured in November) (REUTERS)

A California couple have been shot and killed while on vacation in Mexico, according to authorities.

The married couple, identified only as Gloria A., 50, and Rafael C., 53, were shot dead in the western state of Michoacan just before midnight Wednesday, the Michoacan State Attorney General’s Office said Thursday.

Gloria and Rafael had been traveling through the municipality of Angamacutiro in a black 2016 Ford Platinum pickup truck when the shooting unfolded, the statement added.

Gloria died at the scene while Rafael was rushed to a hospital in Puruándiro where he died a short time later.

At the time of the shooting, they were visiting Mexico for “a few days for the December holidays,” Michoacan Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson Magdalena Guzman told CNN.

A spokesperson told Reuters that the couple had family and a home in Angamacutiro. Gloria had obtained U.S. citizenship, while Rafael was born in the U.S. to Mexican parents.

The prosecutor’s office said that the couple’s license plate had been registered without a number in the Lázaro Cárdenas neighborhood. Investigators were collecting ballistic evidence from the scene for analysis.

The U.S. State Department advises tourists not to travel to several states in Mexico – including Michoacan – due to the ongoing risk of violent crime and kidnappings by organized crime gangs and cartels.