It can happen anytime to anyone. Safety issues in Mexico reached the border between Tijuana and San Ysidro, Calif., as MMA fighter Sergio Salcido Luna and another man were gunned down in their car while waiting in line to cross into the U.S. early�Monday morning.
Salcido, 25, and Kevin Joel Romero, 28, were American citizens who worked at West Coast Beverage Maintenance, a San Diego-based company that services draft beer equipment. They were shot dead in a company truck at 2:40 a.m. PT by an assailant using a 9 MM weapon. The men, both U.S. citizens who lived in Playas de Tijuana, were shot in the head, chest and arms.
Salcido was an MMA welterweight who was 4-5 in his young career. His recent losses included former "The Ultimate Fighter 12" contestant Sako Chivitchian.
The San Diego Union-Tribune called the border shooting "rare."
Shootings in the border crossing lanes are extremely rare. In January 2002, a Mexican soldier sprayed bullets into cars waiting in line on the Mexican side of the Otay Mesa border crossing, wounding three people. In April 1995, a stray bullet from a police shootout hit an innocent Mexican motorist in the head as he was waiting in line to cross into the United States, killing him instantly.
Initial reports said the murders may have been drug related.� Attorney General Rommel Moreno Manjarrez told reporters one of the victims had a "small packet of drugs among his belongings."
"They were good guys," [Matt] Pelot [the victims' employer] said. "I don't think they were dealing drugs, selling drugs or anything to do with drugs. They were both very hardworking individuals. They had a zest for life."
After testing the substance in the bag and saying it was not marijuana, the authorities have since ruled out that murder was a result of drug-related violence.
"There is another line of investigation that is very strong," said Jorge Alberto Aguirre Carbajal, coordinator for the homicide unit of the Baja California Attorney General's Office in Tijuana.
Aguirre said that he could not discuss specifics because of the ongoing investigation. He also said authorities have been interviewing family members and friends of the two victims.
The timing of this tragedy is also significant with an MMA event, Strikeforce, in nearby San Diego on Saturday. Any fans from out of town who were thinking of a quick trip to Tijuana may be dissuaded.
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