( CNN ) -- Two students from the University of Texas at El Paso were shot and killed Tuesday night in Ciudad Juarez , Mexico , Chihuahua state investigators said late Wednesday . The students , identified as Manuel Acosta Villalobos , 25 , and Eder Diaz Sotero , 23 , were gunned down in a hail of more than 30 bullets while driving a Nissan Sentra with Texas plates , Chihuahua State police spokesman Arturo Sandoval said . `` I have confirmed that Eder was from the United States and was a U.S. citizen . The other boy was a Juarez native , '' Sandoval said . The university president , Diana Natalicio , issued a statement about the slayings that was published by The Prospector , the school 's student-run newspaper , on its website . `` Our hearts are heavy today with the news of the deaths of UTEP students Manuel Acosta and Eder Diaz . We offer our deepest condolences to the families and friends of these two men as they deal with the tragic loss of their loved ones , '' Natalicio said . The Prospector identified Acosta as a senior computer information systems major and Diaz as a sophomore sophomore pre-business major . The Prospector also said that two other university students were killed in violence in Juarez on May 25 .
One was U.S. citizen , the other a native of Juarez , police say . Two other university students killed in similar violence earlier this year .