A young man was critically wounded after Navy personnel opened fire outside Puerto Vallarta’s 12th Naval Zone, shutting down a key avenue.
On Saturday, December 6, a quiet afternoon on Puerto Vallarta’s main coastal artery turned abruptly violent. Outside the guard post of the 12th Naval Zone, on Avenida Francisco Medina Ascencio near the city’s pier area, witnesses reported several shots and saw Navy personnel rushing to close traffic on the lateral lanes. Within minutes, the stretch of road that usually carries hotel-zone traffic was transformed into a secured perimeter lined with military vehicles and armed sailors.
Amid the chaos, one person was left on the ground near the base entrance. Authorities later confirmed he was a young man who had been shot by Navy personnel. He was taken by Navy ambulance to the Regional Hospital and is now reported in critical condition, under guard and receiving intensive medical care.
Early on, confusion fueled speculation. Some onlookers suggested a dispute among marines had escalated into an exchange of gunfire. Others feared a coordinated attack on the naval installation itself. Videos filmed from passing vehicles and nearby businesses quickly began circulating on social media, amplifying the sense of panic in a city that depends heavily on tourism and where this avenue is the main road linking the hotel zone with the rest of Puerto Vallarta.
Busy avenue turns into crime scene
As evening fell, authorities began to outline a different version of events. According to the Navy, a lone civilian arrived at the guard post of the 12th Naval Zone asking for information. At some point in that brief interaction, he produced an object with the characteristics of a firearm and threatened the personnel on duty at the gate.
Navy officials say the sailors followed their graduated response protocols, based on the institutional manual for the use of force. They reportedly issued repeated commands for the man to drop the weapon. When he refused and continued to behave in a way they considered threatening, personnel responded with what they described as “disabling shots” to neutralize the risk.
Images from security cameras and bystanders’ phones show a man dressed in dark pants and a light shirt walking toward the base entrance while holding what appears to be a handgun. The footage shows multiple sailors taking position with rifles pointed toward the gate as the man continues moving forward, ignoring shouted orders. A burst of gunfire follows, and the man falls to the ground at the access lane to the installation.
Once the shooting stopped, sailors approached the wounded man and removed a handgun from near his body. Photographs from the scene show a pistol lying on the pavement along with a tactical-style vest, knives and a small black bag. The area remained blocked for hours as military personnel and investigators photographed the evidence and documented the scene.
Puerto Vallarta naval shooting under investigation
By late Saturday night, authorities had identified the wounded man as 18-year-old Landon Dilan, described as a civilian with no confirmed ties to the Navy. Hospital staff and security officials reported that he arrived unconscious, was taken directly into the emergency shock room and was intubated because of the seriousness of his injuries. His condition remained delicate as of Sunday morning.
The release of clearer video recordings helped undercut the initial rumors of an internal fight among marines. The footage, which has been reviewed by multiple outlets, shows only one aggressor approaching the gate while sailors hold their positions at the entrance. Local authorities now describe the incident as a confrontation between a single armed civilian and federal personnel stationed at the naval base.
Even so, many questions remain. Investigators are still working to establish where the young man came from, how he obtained the weapon and knives found at the scene, and what motivated him to walk armed toward one of the most heavily guarded federal installations in the region. For now, officials have not reported any injuries among Navy personnel or bystanders, despite the fact that the confrontation unfolded beside a busy avenue lined with hotels, shops and offices.
The shooting has rattled residents in a city accustomed to seeing uniformed personnel patrolling the tourist corridor but not to experiencing gunfire outside a major federal base at rush hour. For those stuck in traffic or sheltering inside nearby businesses on Saturday, the images of a young man collapsing under a volley of shots will likely linger long after the avenue reopens and the roadblocks come down.
Authorities from the Navy, state prosecutors and federal investigators say the case remains open. As they reconstruct the sequence of events from witness statements, hospital records and multiple video recordings, the Puerto Vallarta naval shooting has become a stark reminder of how quickly everyday life on a busy tourist strip can be interrupted when an armed threat appears at the gates of a military installation.
