Tijuana municipal police arrested four men early Tuesday, April 28, after an armed gang broke into a home in the Colonia Osuna Millán neighborhood, held a family at gunpoint, and briefly kidnapped two of its members.
The attack occurred around 3 a.m. near the Playas de Tijuana access road. According to police reports, the group forced their way into the residence, beat a 21-year-old family member until he revealed the location of a safe, and stole cash, jewelry, and two family vehicles.
Suspects Fled With Two Family Members
After ransacking the home, the armed men took two family members with them as they fled in the stolen vehicles and their own getaway car. Tijuana municipal officers tracked the suspects and made four arrests. The men range in age from 18 to 45.
All four were turned over to Baja California state prosecutors on charges of violent home robbery, vehicle theft, and unlawful deprivation of liberty. A fifth suspect remains at large.
Middle-Class Neighborhood Targeted
Colonia Osuna Millán sits in a middle-class residential area of Tijuana, close to the coastal Playas de Tijuana zone familiar to many cross-border visitors and expats. The neighborhood is not typically associated with high-profile criminal activity.
The coordinated nature of the crime, including the group’s use of a separate getaway vehicle and their specific targeting of the family’s safe, points to possible prior surveillance of the household. The attackers knew what they were looking for and used violence to get it quickly.
Kidnapping Remains a Persistent Issue
Home invasions involving short-term kidnapping remain a concern across Tijuana’s residential neighborhoods. A 2023 investigation by InSight Crime documented a pattern of abductions in the city tied to both organized crime debts and opportunistic ransom schemes. In that report, armed groups were described entering Tijuana apartments at dawn and using “extreme violence” during abductions.
In this case, the quick police response resulted in arrests within hours. The two kidnapped family members were recovered safely.
This story was first reported by Punto Norte.