Armed gunmen shot and killed Miguel Ángel Pantoja Pantoja, the regional coordinator of the Fiscalía General del Estado (FGE) Homicide Unit for the Ensenada-San Quintín zone, on Friday morning, April 24. The attack took place near the Villas Residencial del Rey subdivision at the intersection of Calle Horticultores and Avenida Lázaro Cárdenas in the Colonia El Escorpión area of Ensenada.
Multiple Mexican news outlets report that Pantoja was traveling in an official patrol truck, a Ford SUV, when a group of armed men intercepted his vehicle shortly after 9:00 a.m. The attackers opened fire in what authorities describe as a planned ambush. Pantoja’s vehicle crashed into another car after the shooting. His escort was also killed in the attack, making it a double execution.
Gunmen Fled as Police Launched Massive Search
The attackers escaped in a waiting vehicle immediately after the shooting. Authorities launched a large security operation across southern Ensenada to locate the suspects. Investigators began reviewing security camera footage from the Villas del Rey area to identify the vehicles used by the armed group.
As of Friday evening, no arrests had been made. The FGE condemned the attack on its personnel and announced it would hold a press conference on the case. The state attorney general’s office said the killing is being investigated as a direct act of retaliation by organized crime.
A Career Investigating Cartel Killings
Pantoja led the FGE unit responsible for investigating murders across a territory stretching from Ensenada south to San Quintín, roughly 200 miles of Pacific coastline. His unit focused on dismantling hitman cells operating in the port city. The intersection where the attack occurred sits in a residential commuter area south of central Ensenada, near the Estero Beach corridor familiar to many foreign visitors.
The killing of a senior homicide investigator while on duty marks a significant escalation in targeted violence against law enforcement in Baja California. In recent years, current and former police officials in the state have faced an increasing number of attacks linked to cartel operations. The FGE stated it would not allow impunity in this case.
The story was first reported by Semanario ZETA of Tijuana and Agencia Reforma, with additional details from La Nota Roja and Grupo Milenio.