Surfers in Baja California have called for justice and improved safety on the region’s famed beaches after the shooting deaths of Callum and Jake Robinson and US travelling companion Jack Carter Rhoad.
The trio were honoured in a late-afternoon, “paddle-out” vigil at an Ensenada beach on Sunday that was hosted by the near 60-year-old Baja Surf Club and attended by Mexican and US surfers.
The club said “uncertainty, fear, and anguish should not exist”.
“It’s time to raise our voices and come together in a call to action.”
It said the “paddle-out” aimed to shine a light on all victims of crime in the region.
“This goes not only for our fellow surfers who came to visit us but also for all the missing people in Baja California,” vice president Gino Passalacqua told the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper.
“We demand justice and that the authorities do something to stop this.”
Mr Passalacqua told the newspaper the fact that the Australian brothers and Mr Rhoad were killed in a popular spot for surfers underlined the safety concerns.
“Part of surfing is being able to explore sites in peace and quiet,” he said.
Surfers were also among scores of demonstrators who marched in Ensenada to voice their anger over the deaths.
Many marched with the surfboards scrawled with messages in Spanish, including “Australia, we are with you”, “They only wanted to surf – we demand safe beaches”, “No more deaths” and “Beaches, security, freedom, peace”.
Baja California governor Marina del Pilar Ávila promised “rigorous” action against those responsible for the killings, but insisted the popular Mexican state was safe for tourists.
“Baja California is and will continue to be a state with safe tourism for the thousands of people who visit us from the rest of the country and the world,” she said.
“I send my condolences and solidarity to the families in this difficult moment.”
Mexican authorities do not believe the attackers knew the victims were tourists.
Mexico recorded more than 30,000 homicides in 2023 for a sixth consecutive year. More than 100,000 people are missing.
WA surfers Adam Coleman and Dean Lucas were murdered in the neighbouring Sinaloa region in 2015, with their van and bodies later burnt.