A 55-year-old street vendor was shot and killed Tuesday afternoon while working on Calle Segunda in Tijuana’s Zona Centro, one of the city’s busiest commercial corridors. The victim, who sold clothing from a street stall near the intersection with Constitución, was struck by multiple rounds from a firearm around 2:00 p.m. He died at the scene before paramedics could intervene.
Municipal police and agents from the FGE (Baja California’s state attorney general’s office) cordoned off the area and launched an investigation. As of Wednesday, no suspects had been detained. Authorities have not publicly identified a motive, though the killing’s characteristics point to a targeted attack rather than a random act.
Zona Centro Violence Has Escalated Since Late 2024
Calle Segunda, also known as Calle Benito Juárez, runs parallel to Avenida Revolución and sits just blocks from the pedestrian border crossing at PedWest. The street draws heavy foot traffic from shoppers, tourists, and the thousands of workers who cross the border daily. Street vendors line its sidewalks selling clothes, electronics, and food.
This killing follows a pattern of rising violence in Tijuana’s central neighborhoods. According to data from the Baja California Public Safety Secretariat, Tijuana recorded 1,482 homicides in 2024, making it one of Mexico’s deadliest cities for the fifth consecutive year. The Zona Centro and surrounding colonias have seen a disproportionate share of those killings, with disputes over drug retail territory and extortion rackets driving much of the bloodshed.
Street vendors in Tijuana have become increasingly vulnerable to extortion, known locally as cobro de piso, a fee criminal groups demand from small business owners and informal merchants in exchange for permission to operate. Those who refuse or fall behind on payments face threats, assault, or worse. In March 2025, vendor associations in the Zona Norte district publicly denounced rising extortion demands, telling local media that fees had doubled over the previous six months.
The FGE has not confirmed whether extortion played a role in Tuesday’s killing. But the victim’s profile, a small-scale vendor working in a high-traffic commercial zone, fits the pattern of cobro de piso violence that has claimed dozens of lives across Tijuana’s informal economy.
Calle Segunda Sits Blocks From the Border Crossing
The shooting occurred in an area frequented by cross-border commuters and visitors heading to or from the San Ysidro port of entry. Calle Segunda connects directly to the routes leading to both the vehicle and pedestrian crossings. Shops, pharmacies, and dental clinics catering to American visitors line the corridor.
Daytime shootings in commercial zones carry particular weight because they disrupt the sense of normalcy that sustains cross-border commerce. Tijuana’s Zona Centro depends on foot traffic from the roughly 70,000 people who cross the San Ysidro border in both directions each day, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection figures. When violence erupts in these areas, merchants report immediate drops in customer traffic that can last days or weeks.
Tuesday’s incident also underscores the security gap facing Tijuana’s estimated 10,000 to 15,000 street vendors, who operate largely outside any formal regulatory or protective framework. Unlike established businesses that can install cameras or hire private security, street vendors work exposed on public sidewalks with no protection beyond what they can arrange informally.
Tijuana Mayor Ismael Burgueño, who took office in October 2024, campaigned on a promise to increase municipal police presence in the Zona Centro. His administration announced in January 2025 that it would deploy 200 additional officers to the downtown corridor. Whether those reinforcements have materialized in practice remains unclear, and city officials have not commented publicly on Tuesday’s shooting.
The FGE’s homicide unit is leading the investigation. Forensic teams collected shell casings and reviewed surveillance footage from nearby businesses on Tuesday afternoon. The victim’s body was transported to the Servicio Médico Forense (SEMEFO) for autopsy.
Anyone with information about the shooting can contact the FGE’s anonymous tip line at 800-7233-200. The investigation remains open with no arrests reported as of Wednesday morning, according to reporting by Cadena Noticias.