A 33-year-old man accidentally shot himself in the left hand while fleeing an armed robbery at a Ley supermarket in Tijuana on Friday night, April 17. Police arrested the suspect, identified as Iván López García of Sonora, in the store’s parking lot after his botched escape.
The robbery took place at the Ley location on Bulevar Casa Blanca in the Buenos Aires Sur neighborhood on Tijuana’s east side. Two suspects dressed in black entered the store, beat a security guard with a metal crowbar, and threatened employees with a 9mm pistol. They pried open cash registers and grabbed money before attempting to flee on a motorcycle parked outside.
Accidental Discharge Ended the Escape
As López García ran toward the motorcycle, the pistol discharged accidentally and struck his left hand. His accomplice abandoned him and fled on foot. Officers responding to the scene found López García wounded in the parking lot.
Police recovered 1,350 pesos (about $67 USD) and $31 USD in cash taken from the registers, along with the 9mm firearm and the motorcycle. Paramedics treated López García at the scene and determined he may require amputation of at least one finger due to the severity of the wound.
Suspect Has Outstanding Warrants Including Homicide
López García was turned over to state prosecutors from the Fiscalía General del Estado (FGE), Baja California’s attorney general’s office. He faces charges of armed robbery with violence. A background check revealed multiple prior arrest warrants, including one connected to a 2023 homicide case.
The security guard who was beaten with the crowbar was taken to a hospital. His injuries were not considered life-threatening. Authorities are still searching for the second suspect, who has not been publicly identified.
Ley is one of northwestern Mexico’s largest supermarket chains, with multiple locations across Tijuana. The Bulevar Casa Blanca store sits in a residential area east of downtown, several miles from the San Ysidro border crossing.
This story was first reported by Punto Norte and confirmed by Semanario ZETA.