Tijuana police shot and killed a fugitive inmate on Saturday afternoon, nearly two weeks after he escaped custody at the city’s General Hospital. Felipe Alberto Agúndez Valdez was located around 2:44 p.m. while traveling in a vehicle and was fatally shot after he allegedly attacked officers.
Agúndez Valdez had been receiving medical treatment at Tijuana’s Hospital General under municipal police guard when he fled on April 18. The circumstances of his original escape have not been publicly detailed, but inmates taken to the hospital for treatment are typically watched by municipal officers assigned to guard duty.
Two Weeks on the Run
The fugitive remained at large for roughly 13 days before authorities tracked him down on Saturday. Details about where Agúndez Valdez hid during that period, or what crimes he may have committed while free, have not been released.
When officers located the vehicle he was traveling in, a confrontation ensued. According to authorities, Agúndez Valdez attacked the officers, prompting them to open fire. He was pronounced dead at the scene. No officers were reported injured in the encounter.
Hospital Security Under Scrutiny
The case has drawn renewed attention to security protocols at Tijuana’s General Hospital, where inmates from the city’s penitentiary system are regularly transferred for medical care. Guarding hospitalized inmates falls to municipal police, and escapes from medical facilities have been a recurring problem in Baja California.
The April 18 escape came during a tense period for Tijuana law enforcement. Earlier that same month, the city was shaken by the April 9 killing of Baja California state police commander Abigail Esparza Reyes, 33, who led the “Gringo Hunters” unit responsible for tracking U.S. fugitives in Mexico. Esparza Reyes was shot dead during an operation to arrest escaped California inmate Cesar Hernandez in Tijuana’s Colonia Barcelona neighborhood. Hernandez was later captured on April 18.
The back-to-back incidents involving escaped inmates put a spotlight on custody and fugitive management in Tijuana. Authorities have not announced any changes to hospital guard procedures or any disciplinary actions related to the Agúndez Valdez escape.
This story was first reported by Zeta Tijuana.