Three municipal police shot dead in Tijuana

By Sandra Dibble and Angelica Martinez
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERS
7:55 p.m. September 30, 2009

TIJUANA – Three municipal police officers were shot to death Wednesday night and two others were wounded in the latest attack on officers by suspected organized crime members.

A spokeswoman with the Baja California Attorney General's Office said the shooting happened about 6:10 p.m. in the La Mesa district in the vicinity of a swap meet.

Gabriel Pacheco Briseño and Fernando Silva Mulato, both identified as municipal officers, were driving in separate police pickups when they were ambushed and killed, authorities said.

The third officer dead was identified by authorities as Catalino Valdez Cota who died later at Red Cross hospital.

In recent months, police have been attacked at random by suspected members of the cartels. Officials say the attackers' intention may be to pressure the police chief to resign.

The motive for the latest attack is not known.

An employee of an interior design buisness near the shoooting said he was showing a customer blinds when the gunfire erupted.

The employee, who declined to give his name for fear of retaliation, said he dove to the ground. Bullets were heard for three to four minutes.
Bullets pierced the store's windows and caused damage inside. No one in the business was hurt.

On Saturday, one police officer was shot dead after they he was sprayed by AK-47 bullets while riding in a Chrysler Voyager.

About a week ago, three municipal police officers were fatally shot and a fourth was wounded in an upscale residential area of Playas de Tijuana.
About two dozen officers have been killed this year in confrontations with drug gangs.

Sandra Dibble: (619) 293-1716;
Angelica Martinez: (619) 293-1317;

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