PICTURED: Blood stained car seat and bullet ridden windshield inside SUV carrying a Mormon family when it was attacked by cartel gunmen - as family releases heartbreaking video of a baby being treated in hospital after he was hit by gunfire
Harrowing images from the scene of the slaughter of three Mormon mothers and six of their children after cartel gunmen opened fire show a blood stained baby's car seat and a bullet ridden windshield.
The killers ambushed three SUVs along a dirt road, slaughtering nine U.S. citizens living in northern Mexico, in a grisly attack Monday that left one vehicle a burned-out, bullet-riddled hulk, authorities said Tuesday.
The dead included eight-month-old twins, Titus and Tiana, their mother Rhonita Miller and siblings 10-year-old Krystal and 12-year-old Howard.
Another two mothers, Dawna Langford and Christina Langford Johnson, as well as Dawna's sons, aged 11 and three, were also all killed.
Harrowing images from the scene of the slaughter of three Mormon mothers and six of their children after cartel gunmen opened fire show a blood stained baby's car seat, pictured
The bullet ridden windshield after a drug cartel opened fire on Mormon families killing nine
The burned car where some of those murdered were killed during an ambush in Bavispe
The women had been driving in separate vehicles with their children from the La Mora religious community where they live, which is a decades-old settlement in Sonora state founded as part of an offshoot of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Images show one of the mother's cars covered in blood stains. Another is a burnt out wreck after attackers torched her vehicle causing the gas tank to explode.
Eight youngsters were found alive after escaping from the vehicles and hiding in the brush. But at least five had gunshot wounds or other injuries and were being treated in the U.S., where they were listed as stable, officials and relatives said.
Three other children were uninjured and remain with family in Mexico.
Heartbreaking footage from the hospital shows as some those injured, including a baby, are treated for their wounds.
In the clip a nine-month-old, identified as Brixon Oliver Langford, is tended to by a medic as other children sit in shock, covered in blood and with their wounds bandaged. Brixon was shot in the chest.
One boy can be seen sleeping the wake of the horrors he witnessed.
The video shared on Facebook was posted by the children’s aunt, Dinorah Liddiard. Four of Dawna's five children who survived the attack suffered gunshot wounds.
Dinorah said 14-year-old Kylie Evelyn Langford was shot in the foot. Devin Blake Langford, 13, was uninjured but walked 14 miles to LaMora to get help after hiding his siblings, Liddiard said.
She added that nine-year-old Mckenzie Rayne Langford suffered a grazed on her arm. Cody Greyson Langford, eight, was shot in the jaw, and the leg. And Xander Boe Langford, four, was shot in the back Liddiard confirmed.
A nine-month-old, identified as Brixon Oliver Langford, is tended to by a medic as another child sits in shock, covered in blood and with her wounds bandaged in a Facebook video
Eight youngsters were found alive after escaping from the vehicles and hiding in the brush. But at least five had gunshot wounds or other injuries and were being treated in the U.S., where they were listed as stable, officials and relatives said. Heartbreaking footage from the hospital shows some those injured
They were airlifted to hospitals in the U.S. following the attack. Relatives had posted photos on social media of the blood-soaked children being comforted by relatives in a Mexican hospital before being transferred.
Devastated relatives gathered at the scene of the murders Tuesday evening. Pictures show loved ones embracing as they witnessed the aftermath of Monday's horror.
Authorities also released images of the children being airlifted with the assistance of the Mexican Air Force.
One of the boys who was uninjured in the attack has been credited with saving his injured younger relatives after the 13-year-old covered them with branches to hide them from the cartel gunmen before running back home for help.
Details have also since emerged of the heroic efforts of one slain mother to save her baby. Family members say Christina saved her seven-month-old baby Faith's life by throwing the infant to the floor of their SUV as bullets tore through the vehicle.
Christina Langford Johnson (left) and Dawna Ray Langford (right) were also killed traveling in two separate SUVs. Christina saved her seven-month-old baby Faith's life by throwing the infant to the floor of their SUV. Two of Dawna's children, Trevor, 11, and Rogan, 3, were killed in the attack
At least three American mothers and six children from a Mormon community based in northern Mexico have been massacred in an attack blamed on drug cartel gunmen. Maria Rhonita Miller was killed along with her six-month-old twins, Titus and Tiana (left and right), her 10-year-old daughter Krystal (left) and 12-year-old son Howard (center)
Dawna Ray Langford, 43, and two of her children, Trevor, 11, (right with his mom) and Rogan, 3, (left) also died in the attack
Relatives of slain members of Mexican-American families belonging to Mormon communities observe the burnt wreckage of a vehicle where some of their relatives died in Bavispe
The interior of a bullet-riddled vehicle belonging to one of the Mexican-American Mormon families killed after a cartel opened fire on Monday
Soldiers assigned to Mexico's National Guard pass by a bullet-riddled vehicle belonging to one Mexican-American Mormon family caught up in the slaughter on Monday
Bullet impacts are seen on the door of one of the trucks. Nine members of the LeBaron family were attacked eight miles apart while traveling in a convoy of three SUVS on a dirt road
Family members say Rhonita was driving to Phoenix on Monday with her four children to pick up her husband at the airport following his work trip.
Relatives told DailyMail.com that her car broke down after she blew a tire. She returned to their community to get another car and set off again shortly before the other two mothers left.
Gunmen opened fire and torched her vehicle causing the gas tank to explode. She was killed along with her four children.
Christina and Dawna were traveling in separate SUVs with their own children.
They were en route to see family in the state of Chihuahua for a wedding that was scheduled for Friday, relatives told DailyMail.com.
Mexican Security Secretary Alfonso Durazo said the gunmen may have mistaken the group's large SUVs for those of rival gangs.
The slaughter of U.S. citizens on Mexican soil quickly became an international issue with President Donald Trump on Tuesday vowing to help Mexico wage a war on its drug cartels.
'This is the time for Mexico, with the help of the United States, to wage WAR on the drug cartels and wipe them off the face of the earth,' Trump tweeted.
Obrador, however, refused that approach, saying 'The worst thing you can have is war'.
