A Tijuana municipal police officer was shot and killed early Wednesday morning while on patrol near the Macroplaza shopping center in the Otay Centenario neighborhood. The officer, identified only by his first name and badge number, was ambushed by armed suspects who fled the scene. His partner survived the attack and was transported to a hospital.
Third Attack on Tijuana Police in 2025
The killing follows a pattern of targeted violence against law enforcement in Tijuana that has persisted for years. Attacks on municipal officers have been a grim constant in the city, where organized crime groups compete for control of drug trafficking corridors into the United States. Tijuana recorded more than 1,500 homicides in 2024, and police officers remain frequent targets.
The ambush took place around 3:00 a.m. on Calle Arroyo de Enmedio, a commercial corridor near the Macroplaza Otay complex. The officers were conducting a routine patrol when a vehicle approached and opened fire. The slain officer had served on the force for several years. His partner, also struck by gunfire, was reported in stable condition at a local hospital.
Tijuana’s municipal police force has struggled with recruitment and retention for more than a decade. Officers earn a base salary of roughly 15,000 pesos per month (about $830 USD), a figure that has made staffing the department a persistent challenge. The city currently employs fewer than 3,000 officers to serve a metropolitan area of roughly 2 million people. By comparison, San Diego, just across the border, fields about 2,000 officers for 1.4 million residents but with salaries starting above $70,000 per year.
State and federal authorities have periodically reinforced Tijuana’s police ranks. In 2022, the Mexican military deployed National Guard troops to assist with patrols in high-crime zones including Otay, Sánchez Taboada, and the Zona Norte. Those deployments have continued, but targeted killings of officers persist. FGE, Baja California’s state attorney general’s office, has opened an investigation into Wednesday’s ambush.
Otay Centenario Sits on a Key Commercial and Border Corridor
The Otay Centenario neighborhood sits in Tijuana’s eastern sprawl, close to the Otay Mesa port of entry. The area is heavily commercial, anchored by the Macroplaza Otay shopping center, and serves as a transit point for cross-border freight traffic. Thousands of trucks pass through the Otay Mesa crossing daily, making the surrounding neighborhoods strategically important for both legitimate commerce and illicit operations.
The neighborhood is also home to a growing number of maquiladora workers and small business owners. While it is not a primary residential area for foreign nationals, many expats and cross-border commuters pass through Otay Centenario regularly on their way to and from the border crossing. The Otay Mesa port of entry processed more than 4.2 million personal vehicle crossings in 2024.
Violent incidents in the Otay corridor tend to spike in the early morning hours, when commercial activity drops and patrol coverage thins. Wednesday’s attack followed that pattern. Local business owners reported hearing multiple gunshots before police and paramedics arrived at the scene.
Police Morale and Recruitment Remain Under Pressure
Attacks like Wednesday’s ambush have a compounding effect on a force already short on personnel. Tijuana Mayor Ismael Burgueño took office in October 2024 pledging to improve police salaries and equipment. His administration announced a plan to raise base pay to 18,000 pesos per month (about $1,000 USD) by mid-2025, though the increase has not yet taken effect.
The city has also invested in new patrol vehicles and body cameras over the past year. But officers and their families say the equipment upgrades matter less than the daily risk calculus. A 2023 survey by Mexico’s national statistics agency INEGI found that 78% of Tijuana residents considered their city unsafe, one of the highest rates in the country.
For anyone who lives in or commutes through eastern Tijuana, the practical reality is familiar: heightened police and military presence in daylight hours, reduced coverage after midnight, and periodic road closures when investigations are underway. Wednesday morning’s shooting closed Calle Arroyo de Enmedio for several hours during the investigation.
FGE stated that it is reviewing security camera footage from nearby businesses to identify the suspects. No arrests had been made as of Wednesday afternoon. The slain officer’s name was withheld pending notification of his family. Reporting on this incident was first published by Zeta Tijuana.