Officer killed in Tecate vehicle check; suspected gunman sought
Original reporting: ZETA Tijuana
What happened
ZETA reports Astrid Manzano Córdova was killed and another officer seriously wounded during an October 26 vehicle check. Officials identified Gerardo Olguin Villa as the suspected shooter; two other occupants were detained.
Reporting and context
Baja California state officer Astrid Manzano Córdova was shot dead during a vehicle check in Tecate on October 26, according to ZETA Tijuana. Security coordination officials cited by the outlet identified the suspected gunman as Gerardo Olguin Villa, known as El Castor, who remained at large at the time of the report.
The attack occurred at about 5:45 p.m. outside a grocery and beer store on Naranjos Street in the Alfonso Garzón neighborhood, also known as Nido de las Águilas. Manzano served with the Ensenada immediate response group of the state security force, FESC. Surveillance footage described in the article shows officers approaching a black Jeep Cherokee carrying four men before its front passenger opens fire.
Officer Juan José Robles was seriously wounded, and a civilian working on a vehicle outside the store was also taken to a hospital. Two rear-seat passengers, identified as Alan Israel and Luis Alfonso, were detained and presented to authorities over aggravated homicide and attempted aggravated homicide against police officers. The suspected shooter and the driver, identified in the report as his brother, escaped on foot.
ZETA Tijuana reported that Olguin Villa already faced an arrest warrant over the April 18, 2023 killing of Francisco Ernesto Figueroa Miranda. Investigators told the outlet he had previously belonged to Sinaloa and Jalisco cartel groups but said they did not know his current affiliation.
The killing came during a wider wave of violence. Earlier on October 26, gunmen killed four members of a family in El Escorial. Searchers also found three unidentified bodies near Rancho Las Creaturas in Nueva Colonia Hindú. Less than 24 hours after Manzano's killing, another FESC officer was deliberately struck by a fleeing vehicle during a separate pursuit, the article reported. Gunfire near UABC's Tecate campus and a preschool sent students, teachers and young children into shelter.
On October 28, state, municipal and federal authorities launched Operativo Tecate with 266 personnel, 87 patrol vehicles, an armored response unit and four canine teams. The deployment involved FESC, state prosecutors, the Army, National Guard and Navy. Those are deployment figures for the operation, rather than arrest or homicide totals.
Source: ZETA Tijuana.