2 migrant teens slain in Tijuana robbery attempt, officials say

[DonViejo]

Source: NBC News



Tijuana has been experiencing record violence at the same time its migrant population has been growing.

Dec. 19, 2018 / 1:23 AM EST

By Annie Rose Ramos and Dennis Romero

Two teenagers who were staying at a migrant center in central Tijuana, Mexico, were killed in an attempted robbery, a law enforcement official said late Tuesday.

Jorge Alberto Álvarez Mendoza, deputy attorney general in the state of Baja California, said the two boys, estimated to be ages 16 and 17, were stabbed and strangled Saturday. Their bodies were found shortly after 7 p.m., he said.

A third boy with the victims managed to escape, he said.

The bodies were found in an alley in a neighborhood named for the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, Álvarez Mendoza said. Authorities believe the trio were headed to another migrant shelter, the Benito Juarez sports complex, which was officially closed down after heavy rains doused the open-air encampment earlier this month.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/2-migrant-teens-slain-tijuana-robbery-attempt-officials-say-n949681

[sinkingfeeling]

1. So sad. Traveling for a better life.

[maxsolomon]

2. what in the world did the theives expect to steal from them?

tragic, pointless, senseless.

[maveric]

3. TJ is one of the most dangerous cities in the world.

The past 25 years of cartel activity has made it much worse.
I had a co- worker, young guy, went to a family members house for New Years Eve. He didn’t show up at work. Two weeks later they found his body with a bullet hole to the head.
I worked in Otay, by the border. Several co-workers lived in TJ and drove across the border every day. One morning, hanging from an overpass, was a man’s body, throat cut. Just hanging there.
Crazy.
It happens all the time down there. Very sad.

We used to cross years ago for food, drink and shopping. Not any more.

[Juneboarder]

4. That is quite the statement there...

Tijuana is definitely not a safe city, but to say it is one of the most dangerous cities in the world is a bit of an exaggeration. I live in San Diego and have family from Ensenada. We have traveled to/from Baja countless times of my 39 years on this planet and have yet to experience this "danger". It's like walking through a field of wildflowers in the summer. Do you swat at the bees, or leave them alone?

[EX500rider]

5. Actually he/she would be correct, it is ranked 5th in most dangerous cities in the world.

5 of the top 10 are in Mexico:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_murder_rate

[Juneboarder]

6. This was just my opinion from an on-ground point of view...

I was just in Tijuana about a month ago, and have yet to have any issues arise. The majority of media outlets are severely biased against Tijuana right now and it's always had a bad reputation. I've always found that Tijuana is best to be judged in person rather than word of mouth.

[EX500rider]

7. There is difference between tourists death rate and locals.

Generally it is local gangs killing each other and other locals who didn't give it up fast enough. Most tourists don't make it to the scary barrios where this happens. The locals also know killing a US tourist brings down a lot more heat then killing some poor bario nobody. The local cops will be under a lot of pressure to solve a US citizens death and will throw their A-Team at it.

I looked into Colombia before I went there on vacation last year, what I found was that you are safer as a US tourist in Colombia then you are while in the US.

US overall homicide rate is 4.8 per 100,000, the Colombian rate 26.5 per 100,000 for Colombians.

US tourist rate over 5 years in Colombia was 19 killed in 5 years per State Dept figures with around 400,000 visitors a year.

Gives a rate of around .95 per 100,000.

Which means I was safer on avg in Colombia on vacation then I was in the States. Course tourists don't stay there as long but that was still the rate and my chances of being killed. If I stayed a whole year the rate would go up but not as high as the Colombian avg I bet, if only because I wouldn't be living in the worst barrios.

If 400,000 US tourists sounds like a lot, Costa Rica is 20 times smaller and gets 3 million+ US tourists a yr. Which is why I don't go there anymore.

The State Dept tracks all US citizens deaths overseas, posted here:
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/while-abroad/death-abroad1/death-statistics.html

[Juneboarder]

8. I don't know if I'd call myself a "tourist"...

considering I have relatives and friends in Baja that I regularly see, and the drive is only 45 minutes from my door to the border. As well, when I go down, I always park and walk across and then walk to wherever I'm going, so I do pass through many questionable neighborhoods as well as stay away from the popular "Revolucion"...

I do see what you're saying though, and agree that it can be safer to be a tourist in many cases, as you're sticking with the typical tourist spots that one would visit and don't venture out into the alt neighborhoods.