Given the element of surprise, the policemen did not have the chance to defend themselves from the aggression. The policemen that got out of the vehicles were shot by the CJNG. Those who stayed inside them died of calcination. In total, 15 police officers were killed in the ambush. 5 more were wounded and transported by helicopter to a wounded-care zone in Puerto Vallarta before being transferred to several hospitals across the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area. Authorities reported them as being in stable condition. No casualties on the CJNG's side were confirmed because the gunmen were able to escape. The police called for reinforcements in Guadalajara. Several police units drove to the area, and a helicopter made it to the scene to provide air support. The Mexican Navy and the Mexican Federal Police (PF) then carried out a search of the surrounding areas to locate the CJNG gunmen. Investigators discovered that the assailants built an encampment in the mountains and waited for the police for as long as 48 hours. Some of the police units were completely burnt and totaled. Firefighters from Puerto Vallarta were called to the scene put down the flames in the burning vehicles. At the scene, investigators found hundreds of high-caliber bullet casings and detonated grenade fragmentation. At least two vehicles from the CJNG were purposely burnt to block the roads, but investigators were not able to determine if the vehicles were owned by uninvolved civilians whose cars were hijacked by the CJNG to block the road. There were no reported injuries during the road blockades carried out by the CJNG. After the shootout took place, the area was cordoned by law enforcement; the road where the attack occurred was closed for security measures. Several drivers complained because they were trying to leave or go to Puerto Vallarta but were unable to do so. That same evening, Jalisco authorities issued a communiqué confirming that the attack had taken place, but did not specify the casualties until the following morning. The report stated that the attack against the police was a retaliation for the 23 March death of Heriberto Acevedo Cárdenas (alias "El Gringo"), a suspected regional leader of the CJNG. In addition, the report stated that the attack was provoked by the arrest of 15 suspected CJNG members following an assassination attempt against Francisco Alejandro Solorio Aréchiga, Jalisco's security commissioner, on 30 March. A day after the attack, Jorge Aristóteles Sandoval Díaz, the Governor of Jalisco, called for a meeting with several high-ranking government officials at the Municipal Palace of Guadalajara ().