A Brit gunned down in Mexico while out food shopping with two friends had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, his family said.
Ben Corser had been in a supermarket in Colima, west Mexico, picking up food when he was brutally shot down on Tuesday, 24 May.
The 37-year-old tourist from Cornwall had been sat in the back of a car outside the shop with two friends, when all three of them were killed.
Ben’s parents and his brother have paid heartbreaking tribute to him and said he had been in “the wrong place at the wrong time”.
Dad, former headteacher, Andrew Corser and mum Lorraine Downes, along with brother Tom, said Ben had been living there since January was “becoming part of the community”.
They say he was killed alongside his two friends, Claudio and Alfredo and Ben’s body will be returned to the UK for a funeral in St Just.
Their statement said: "Ben has been in Mexico since January 2022, where he had been having a very happy and sociable time, living in different parts of Mexico, becoming part of the community, and also moving around a bit.
''Most recently, Ben was living with a Mexican-American family near Colima city; two of the young men in the household (Claudio and Alfredo) were skateboarders and Ben joined them skating.
"On Tuesday evening, May 24, 2022, Ben and Claudio came back on the bus from Guadalajara and Alfredo picked them up in the car.
''They went along the main boulevard in Colima and stopped at a supermarket to get some food for Mamma.
''While they were in the car, outside the supermarket, all three young men, including Ben sitting in the back seat, were shot dead.
"We have had no explanation, no reasons given, no suggestion of robbery, kidnapping or anything else.”
They added that the police investigation was continuing but there had been an upsurge in violence in Colima in the previous weeks.
They added: ''It it most likely that this was a question of Ben (and Claudio and Alfredo) being tragically in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"Thank you for all your lovely expressions of regret and support, and all of the offers of help - St Just, Ben's large network of friends, have given the family vital comfort in this appalling time of grief. Thank you."
The statement continued: 'Ben’s family are completely devastated – his heart-rending death came as such a shock to all of us, and to each of his multitude of friends around the country and beyond.
''Ben had a breadth that is rare today: he held first class degrees in both fine art and mathematics, he was an artist, a poet, a computer user, maker, coder and programmer, a skateboarder, a sea swimmer, a wild camper, a festival goer, an actor, a yoga lover, a photographer, a music maker, a dancer.
''He was a lover of people from the youngest to the oldest, man, woman and child; of animals (especially dogs and cats); of nature, from the cultivated through to the wildest; but also of the urban environment, of graffiti and of skyscrapers; and of all art – from the earliest, the most representational, to the most abstract, the newest and the most conceptual."
It went on to say that he always "lived in the moment" and was "so generous sharing his joy in life".
When speaking about returning Ben's body for a funeral state Prosecutor's Office spokesperson Gustavo Adrián Joya Cervera said: "We are in contact with the [British] government at the federal level for the purpose of clarifying this issue."
Ben founded a group of artists called Bristol Diving School and his family said they hoped to hold his funeral on Midsummer, June 24.
Ben is tragically the second person from Cornwall to be shot and killed in Mexico this year.
Chris Cleave, 54, was driving through Playa del Carmen in Cancun, on the opposite side of the country, when he was killed in March.
This comes as only a few months prior, Mexican authorities announced they were deploying nearly 1000 soldiers to the region to fight organised crime.
Local reporter Bertha Reynoso tweeted: "Engineer Ben Marshall Corser is the first foreigner victim of this wave of violence that has been experienced in Colima since January 25."
People took to social media to pay tribute to Ben. An old school pal said: ''Sincere condolences to you all. I haven’t seen Ben since school, but it goes without saying that he was bursting with charisma.
''What an absolute tragedy. Love and strength to you all x.''
Another said: ''I'm so sorry Tom, sending much love to you and your mum and dad. I have fond memories of Ben, he was so much fun and just a really nice lad.''
Another wrote: ''So sorry to hear this Tom ... thoughts with you and the family pal.''
