American Killed in Guatemala After Robbers Hijack Tour Van

Gunmen in southwestern Guatemala hijacked a minibus carrying 13 Utah tourists Wednesday and opened fire, killing one man and robbing everyone aboard, police said.

The bus had left the mountain city of Quetzaltenango and was headed for the Mexican border when it was intercepted by five men in a pickup truck outside Colomba, about 100 miles west of Guatemala City.

The gunmen forced the bus off the road, climbed aboard and opened fire, said Jose Boch, a police spokesman in Retalhuleu, 25 miles from the attack scene.

Brett Richards, 52, of Ogden, Utah, died of a gunshot wound to the chest. The Guatemalan bus driver, Filiberto Roca, was wounded in his right ankle.

All of the other tourists were from Ogden or Salt Lake City, although authorities did not immediately identify them. They were not reported hurt.

The assailants robbed everyone, then sped away, Boch said. They remained at large late Wednesday.

Police rushed Richards to a hospital in Retalhuleu, but he died en route, Boch said.

The remaining tourists were taken to a Mormon center in Retalhuleu, then to the home of a local Mormon leader, he said.

They were not participating in any formal religious mission, Boch said.