A Mexicali municipal police officer is in preventive detention after a 24-year-old man was fatally shot during a vehicle pursuit in the city’s rural valley on Saturday afternoon, July 4.
The victim, identified only as Luis Antonio, was found dead inside a vehicle in the Colonia Granados area with a gunshot wound to the back of the head. The car had crashed during the chase. The Fiscalía General del Estado (FGE), Baja California’s state attorney general’s office, is investigating whether the officer followed proper use-of-force protocols.
Video Sparks Public Outcry
The case drew public attention after a video circulated on social media showing municipal police officers with weapons drawn as the victim’s family confronted them at the scene. The footage has fueled anger over police conduct in Mexicali, particularly the circumstances that led to a fatal gunshot wound to the back of the victim’s head.
Authorities have indicated the pursuit may have originated from a brawl at a local soccer match. According to reports, multiple hooded individuals armed with baseball bats were involved in the altercation, which apparently prompted the police response.
FGE Investigation Underway
The FGE has taken over the investigation, which will focus on whether the officer’s use of deadly force was justified under Mexican law. The officer has been placed in preventive detention while the inquiry proceeds. No additional details about the officer’s identity or rank have been released.
Colonia Granados sits in the agricultural valley east of Mexicali’s urban center, a sprawling area of small communities that stretches toward the municipality’s border with the state of Sonora. The valley is home to farming operations and scattered residential colonies, many of which see limited police presence compared to the city proper.
Timing Raises Questions
The shooting occurred just one day after the Baja California state government publicly claimed its state police force enjoys the best working conditions of any state force in Mexico. While the detained officer is a municipal employee rather than a state officer, the timing has not gone unnoticed by residents and commenters online.
Police use-of-force incidents in Baja California have drawn national and international attention in recent years. In January 2025, a Sinaloa state police officer fatally shot an American driver at a checkpoint, an incident that generated widespread outrage after video of the shooting circulated online.
The FGE has not announced a timeline for completing its investigation. This story was first reported by Punto Norte.