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Many of us have been following this story the past few days. The original info said a family of musicians from Ensenada were palying and partying Sunday night on the sand dunes just south of Rosarito (Primo Tapia) when a gunman with an AK-47 opened fire on the group- killing several including an 11 year old boy. The Rosarito police chased a black jeep through downtown Rosarito until it crashed into the Don Luis Motel (near the end of my street in downtown Rosarito). The Jeep failed to stop for police because they were headed to the Rosarito Hospital. It turns out it an American tourist with Department of Defense clearance was in the Jeep and died at the scene from an abdomen gunshot wound.



From another baja Website:
"One of the dead was an innocent American down in Rosarito with his friends and went to Los Arenales to listen to the music. The dead American is Tomas Llamas Garcia, about 30 years old, and he worked in National City and had a DoD pass to get on military bases. They say he was in the black jeep which crashed in Rosarito. His friends were rushing him to a hospital and the Rosarito police pulled them over, possibly contributing to his death as they delayed medical treatment."

http://www.afntijuana.info/seguridad...ctima#ver_nota


Here is Rosarito Police Chief Montero in a news conference:




This is the original story, which has since evolved:



ROSARITO, Baja California(PH) - Como resultado de una balacera ocurrida en la zona de Los Arenales en Primo Tapia, cuatro personas fueron asesinadas y dos más se encuentran malheridas; al parecer entre ellos hay una mujer.

De acuerdo con los datos preliminares, poco antes de las 21:00 horas de este domingo, personas armadas a bordo de una camioneta, ingresaron a Los Arenales y ahí se suscitó una balacera, que dejó la cifra fatal de muertos y heridos.

El comandante de la Cruz Roja de Rosarito, Carlos Mendoza, informó que cinco personas llegaron por sus propios medios al Puesto de Socorro de la Cruz Roja en Primo Tapia, luego de ocurrido el ataque, pero en el lugar fallecieron tres y los otros dos fueron trasladados al Hospital General, para que pudieran ser atendidos, pero su pronóstico era reservado

Momentos después, se reportó que un hombre había chocado su camioneta contra un taxi justo enfrente del Motel Don Luis, éste ubicado sobre el bulevar Benito Juárez, pero referenciado como uno de los partícipes en la agresión de Primo Tapia.

El hombre que viajaba en un jeep color negro, con placas fronterizas, se encontraba muy mal herido y perdió la vida justo antes de chocar con la unidad de transporte público.

Una gran movilización policiaca se realizó por la ciudad en busca de los agresores, pero hasta el cierre de esta edición no se reportaban oficialmente personas detenidas, aunque en una de las patrullas que se encontraba justo afuera del hotel, tres personas estaban al parecer detenidas, ya que gritaban a través de la ventana que era injusta su detención.

Y mientras esto ocurría, decenas de personas muchas de ellas personal y clientes del hotel, observaban la escena del auto chocado sin apartarse del lugar.

http://www.frontera.info/EdicionEnLi...-Arenales.html

ROSARITO, Baja California - As the result of a gunfight which occurred in the area of Los Arenales [the sand dunes], in Primo Tapia, four people were murdered and two more are badly wounded. It appears a woman is among them.

According to the preliminary data, a little before 9PM on Sunday, armed persons on board an SUV entered Los Arenales, and thereafter a gunfight took place that left the people dead and wounded.

Rosarito Red Cross commander Carlos Mendoza reported that five people arrived by their own means to the Primo Tapia Red Cross Aid Station after the attack, but three died there and another two were taken to the General Hospital to be treated, but their prognosis is reserved.

Moments later, there was reported that a man had crashed his SUV into a taxi right in front of the Motel Don Luis, which is located on bulevar Benito Juárez, but was one of the participants in the Primo Tapia attack.

The man who was travelling in a Black Jeep with Baja license plates was badly wounded and died just before crashing with the taxi.

A large police mobilization was carried out in the city in search of the attackers, but as of the close of this edition there was no official report of people being arrested. However, in one of the patrol vehicles in front of the hotel there appeared to be three people detained, and they yelled through the window that their detention was unjust.

While this occurred, dozens of people, many of them personnel and guests of the hotel, watched the crashed car scene without leaving the area.

(Woooosh Note: The current US State Department travel advisory urges Americans not to travel in Baja at night.)

El Sol is reporting today an investigation has begun to understand why the American was left bleeding for over an hour at the crash scene and died from lack of medical attention. The first news reports on Monday said the crashed Jeep contained the presumed assasin, not a victim- which likely explains the mindset of the police at the time. But is it OK to let anyone die- even if they are presumed to be the assasins?

Last year the Rosarito police sadly let lifeguard Mar Tejada die at the scene when he was shot in his lifeguard truck on beach patrol and arrested an American missionary for aggressively insisiting he get medical attention.

Objeto de investigacias municipales de Playas de Rosarito


On a personal note: I've been posting for several years that our friends who will no longer visit Rosarito Beach say they aren't afraid of being a crime victim in Mexico- they are afraid if something should go wrong there will be no one to help them. I don't understand the protocol and role of the Red Cross in these situations.

Too many weird and conflicting reports about this incident.

Also, be interesting to know if the vehicle drove through the military checkpoint at Popotla, and if so, what did the military do??

Originally Posted by Woooosh

Many of us have been following this story the past few days. The original info said a family from Ensenada was listening to music and partying Sunday night on the sand dunes just south of Rosarito (Primo Tapia) when a gunman with an AK-47 opened fire on the group- killing several including an 11 year old boy. The Rosarito police chased a black jeep through downtown Rosarito until it crashed into the Don Luis Motel (near the end of my street in downtown Rosarito). The Jeep failed to stop for police because they were headed to the Rosarito Hospital. It turns out it an American tourist with Department of Defense clearance was in the Jeep and died at the scene from an abdomen gunshot wound.



From another baja Website:
"One of the dead was an innocent American down in Rosarito with his friends and went to Los Arenales to listen to the music. The dead American is Tomas Llamas Garcia, about 30 years old, and he worked in National City and had a DoD pass to get on military bases. They say he was in the black jeep which crashed in Rosarito. His friends were rushing him to a hospital and the Rosarito police pulled them over, possibly contributing to his death as they delayed medical treatment."

http://www.afntijuana.info/seguridad...ctima#ver_nota


Here is Rosarito Police Chief Montero in a news conference:




This is the original story, which has since evolved:



ROSARITO, Baja California(PH) - Como resultado de una balacera ocurrida en la zona de Los Arenales en Primo Tapia, cuatro personas fueron asesinadas y dos más se encuentran malheridas; al parecer entre ellos hay una mujer.

De acuerdo con los datos preliminares, poco antes de las 21:00 horas de este domingo, personas armadas a bordo de una camioneta, ingresaron a Los Arenales y ahí se suscitó una balacera, que dejó la cifra fatal de muertos y heridos.

El comandante de la Cruz Roja de Rosarito, Carlos Mendoza, informó que cinco personas llegaron por sus propios medios al Puesto de Socorro de la Cruz Roja en Primo Tapia, luego de ocurrido el ataque, pero en el lugar fallecieron tres y los otros dos fueron trasladados al Hospital General, para que pudieran ser atendidos, pero su pronóstico era reservado

Momentos después, se reportó que un hombre había chocado su camioneta contra un taxi justo enfrente del Motel Don Luis, éste ubicado sobre el bulevar Benito Juárez, pero referenciado como uno de los partícipes en la agresión de Primo Tapia.

El hombre que viajaba en un jeep color negro, con placas fronterizas, se encontraba muy mal herido y perdió la vida justo antes de chocar con la unidad de transporte público.

Una gran movilización policiaca se realizó por la ciudad en busca de los agresores, pero hasta el cierre de esta edición no se reportaban oficialmente personas detenidas, aunque en una de las patrullas que se encontraba justo afuera del hotel, tres personas estaban al parecer detenidas, ya que gritaban a través de la ventana que era injusta su detención.

Y mientras esto ocurría, decenas de personas muchas de ellas personal y clientes del hotel, observaban la escena del auto chocado sin apartarse del lugar.

http://www.frontera.info/EdicionEnLi...-Arenales.html

ROSARITO, Baja California - As the result of a gunfight which occurred in the area of Los Arenales [the sand dunes], in Primo Tapia, four people were murdered and two more are badly wounded. It appears a woman is among them.

According to the preliminary data, a little before 9PM on Sunday, armed persons on board an SUV entered Los Arenales, and thereafter a gunfight took place that left the people dead and wounded.

Rosarito Red Cross commander Carlos Mendoza reported that five people arrived by their own means to the Primo Tapia Red Cross Aid Station after the attack, but three died there and another two were taken to the General Hospital to be treated, but their prognosis is reserved.

Moments later, there was reported that a man had crashed his SUV into a taxi right in front of the Motel Don Luis, which is located on bulevar Benito Juárez, but was one of the participants in the Primo Tapia attack.

The man who was travelling in a Black Jeep with Baja license plates was badly wounded and died just before crashing with the taxi.

A large police mobilization was carried out in the city in search of the attackers, but as of the close of this edition there was no official report of people being arrested. However, in one of the patrol vehicles in front of the hotel there appeared to be three people detained, and they yelled through the window that their detention was unjust.

While this occurred, dozens of people, many of them personnel and guests of the hotel, watched the crashed car scene without leaving the area.


(Woooosh Note: The current US State Department travel advisory urges Americans not to travel in Baja at night.)

From that El Sol article:

"The now deceased was helped by three of his friends in a Jeep Rubicon vehicle and was being taken to receive medical attention after passing a military checkpoint and soldiers in uniform to notify them of the incident. Minutes later the Jeep was intercepted on Boulevard Benito Juárez..."

Perhaps the military called the Rosarito Police? It's only Wednesday, the story was convoluted to begin with which is why I wasn't going to post about it yet- until an American was identified as one of the victims. Chief Montero will get to the bottom of it. No TV or newspapers in San Diego have covered it that I can find. I'm sure the three friends of the victim will tell their story.

Well, I'm no expert on these things, but on the surface it looks like gang-on-gang or drug-on drug involvement......will be waiting for the follow up

Also nothing reported on ensenada.net.....supposedly one of the victims was from Ensenada

Originally Posted by Teniente

Well, I'm no expert on these things, but on the surface it looks like gang-on-gang or drug-on drug involvement......will be waiting for the follow up

Also nothing reported on ensenada.net.....supposedly one of the victims was from Ensenada

I can't imagine why a group of people being in killed in Rosarito Beach during Spring Break wouldn't be plastered all over the local front pages.

I do think we are all too fixated on drug gangs and narco violence. Sometimes family disputes are just as violent, but who takes an AK-47 to a picnic? The original story had an Ensenada connection: the family attacked plays music on the beach for tips. El Sol reported one victim was the son of a municipal worker from Maneadero, Ruben Castenada. It would be better for everyones nerves if this were a family dispute over narco violence. Captain Montero is a straight shooter and will share the results of his investigation when it's done.

"Extraoficialmente se obtuvo que uno de los jóvenes que perdió la vida en Los Arenales, suceso registrado a las 8:40 de la noche, es hijo del delegado municipal de Maneadero, Rubén Castañeda."

Seis ejecutados y un ahogado en Rosarito

Another interesting "spin"

Borderland Beat: 4 Dead after shootout in Rosarito, including 11yr Boy.

Boy, 11, among four dead in Rosarito Beach attack | UTSanDiego.com

Oh my God.

I loved Rosarito Beach when I first arrived there over a decade ago. Today, it is a very different city than the quiet, tranquil beach community we all knew.

So very, very glad that neither Cristina or I had to suffer through any such delays for care. In spite of our remote location, our community, paramedics and municipal/federal police all responded immediately and were instrumental in keeping us alive and ensuring that the perps were quickly caught.

An hour delay for care with heavy bleeding? Very doubtful that anyone could possibly survive that.

Sincerely hope this shakes some foundations at the palacio municipal in Rosarito....

There will be a meeting meeting on personal security and related community issues Saturday, April 26 at 1:00 at Rene's Restaurant in Rosarito. It is not a political meeting, but is sponsored by Democrats Abroad. If it becomes an ongoing project, then it will be independent of any group, most likely.

This is the second incident in a few months that I know of where the testimony is that the Rosarito police prevented urgent care, resulting in a death. Pressure for accountability and training in responding to these situations are two things that would help (not that I'm deep enough into these issues to speak with any authority on the subject).

Originally Posted by MexicaliAlan

Boy, 11, among four dead in Rosarito Beach attack | UTSanDiego.com

I hope that is not their final version of this troy. Why did Dibble fail to mention an innocent US CItizen was shot dead? I honestly believe she is part of the Baja PR machine and goes out of her way not to report crime that could damage tourism. Why, I don't know. This is spring break after all though. But back in 2009 or so I confronted her about not reporting some dead bodies hanging from a bridge on the TJ-Rosarito free road. She sidestepped it and never reported it. She would never acknowledge or report how bad it really was during that hellacious period years ago- now everyone knows how bad it really was then, even her friend Hugfo Torres- no thanks to the Union Tribune. All reporters and media outlets have biases though, on both sides of the border. We'll see if an update comes. I hope she doesn't stick her head in the sand this time around too. The truth is the truth- just lay it out there.



I thought the Borderland Beat article was interesting. It looks like someone tried to convince authorites the dead US citizen was an assasin and identified him as someone else. But the DoD ID matched his body and the Rosartio Police now say he was an innocent bystander. No doubt someone was trying to start a war between two gangs by doing that. That is interesting as it hints that a turf war simmering below the surface. Not good but not unexpected given the recent capture of El Chapo and wannabees trying to fil the void and make a name for themselves.

In all honesty, the ONLY thing I care about in this case is that an innocent American citizen was left to die on the streets of Rosarito Beach. He may have lived if he were blond haired and blue eyed. Perhaps the police had a bias becasue he looked like a local.

I still think it's "safe enough" to come down to Rosarito Beach or the wine region for a day trip following the US State Departments Travel Advisory: Maintain a high level of situational awareness at all times and don't drive at night. Everyone has their own comfort levels for safety and just stay within yours. jmho

Originally Posted by BluChunx

There will be a meeting meeting on personal security and related community issues Saturday, April 26 at 1:00 at Rene's Restaurant in Rosarito. It is not a political meeting, but is sponsored by Democrats Abroad. If it becomes an ongoing project, then it will be independent of any group, most likely.

This is the second incident in a few months that I know of where the testimony is that the Rosarito police prevented urgent care, resulting in a death. Pressure for accountability and training in responding to these situations are two things that would help (not that I'm deep enough into these issues to speak with any authority on the subject).

Good info. Thanks.

Originally Posted by BajaGringo

Oh my God.

I loved Rosarito Beach when I first arrived there over a decade ago. Today, it is a very different city than the quiet, tranquil beach community we all knew.

So very, very glad that neither Cristina or I had to suffer through any such delays for care. In spite of our remote location, our community, paramedics and municipal/federal police all responded immediately and were instrumental in keeping us alive and ensuring that the perps were quickly caught.

An hour delay for care with heavy bleeding? Very doubtful that anyone could possibly survive that.

Sincerely hope this shakes some foundations at the palacio municipal in Rosarito....

I agree and the problem goes deeper than awareness. It is systematic. There are defined roles Mexican security and emergency responders have that are different that what an American would expect to see. The police are just that, police- not a lick of first aid training or sense of urgency on behalf of the victim- they are soley focused on the crime in progress (given how many police are ambushed in secondary attacks I can see why). I don't know at what stage they call the Red Cross. In the case of the dead Lifeguard Mar Tejada the Red Cross arrived but police vehicles blocked their access onto the beach so they just waited (ahem). The US Citizen arrested at that scene went ballistic over the police not moving their vehicles and for the Red Cross not just running out to help him on the sand. And this was a Rosarito Beach lifeguard (a division of the Fire Dept) laying on the beach dying- one of their own "family". I can't explain why there is no apparent sense of urgency to help a victim survive- no matter who it is. Perhaps they see so much crime and dead bodies they can't let it get to them emotionally. I really do not know.

Well, well- will wonders never cease. Dibble steps up.

Rosarito shooting victim was from San Diego | UTSanDiego.com

Rosarito shooting victim was from San Diego
By Sandra Dibble 7:11 P.M. MARCH 19, 2014

Family members said Wednesday that a man who died Sunday when unknown assailants sprayed gunfire on a beach-side gathering south of Rosarito Beach was Hector Gerardo Tapia, a 37-year-old construction worker from south San Diego.

Relatives said Tapia liked to ride off-road vehicles at Los Arenales, an area of tall sand dunes in the community of Primo Tapia.

Hector Tapia was born and raised in Chula Vista, and graduated from Chula Vista High School. He was divorced with an 8-year-old son.

The U.S. Consulate in Tijuana confirmed that Tapia was a U.S. citizen, and a spokeswoman said consular staff were providing assistance to family members.

Rosarito Beach police initially reported four people died in the incident, which took place just before 9 p.m. The Baja California attorney general’s office clarified that three were killed, including an 11-year-old boy, Adrian Gomez Carballo. Seven people were injured, and have been treated and released, authorities said.

It was unclear whether the third fatality, Tomas Llamas Garcia, was a U.S. citizen. A friend said he was born in Tijuana but was working in National City in the car business.

A source at the Baja California Attorney General’s Office said that neither Tapia nor Llamas had criminal records. Investigators were looking into whether the shooting was triggered by a dispute previous to the gathering with one of the attendees, the source said.

Investigators initially said that there was only one gunman, but they now believe there were at least two, the source said, as they found casings from an AK-47 assault rifle and 9 mm handgun at the scene.


THANK YOU SANDRA

And, as usual, not a single note anywhere in the American media about this.

Originally Posted by sargentodiaz

And, as usual, not a single note anywhere in the American media about this.

In this case the UT and Dibble reported the story, and that is good. The way they divided it into two different reports (one of the shooting and the second saying an American was killed) plays to the way the media and people get their news these days.

Media outlets and new consolidators (like Drudge and Huff Post) get most of their stories from the web. Once a story gets traction on the web, it takes off and moves up the popularity ladder to make it onto a printed page, a TV report or a media outlets own websites. They scour the web every day, but seem to be doing less actual beat reporting on their own. The quality of the stories is not as important as the volume of the stories. Fact checking is secondary (A good read on this current "iterative journalism" phenomeon is "Trust Me, I'm Lying" by the former internet marketing head of American Apparrel). Imho the reason this was done by the UT on this crime is to let the original story out without taking the second story with it. The first story (without mention of a US citizen being killed) would be lost in the web amid a sea of similar crime stories coming out of Mexico when inclusion of a US citizen being killed would likely have made it float to the top right away. At this point If social media does not act to bring the second story to the surface- it won't ever make the news.

Mexico is going through a systemtatic media cleansing of sorts- with journalists and bloggers feeling threatened and being intimidated when they report about crime or the DTO's (drug trafficking organizations). Some of the intimidation comes from the gov't the rest comes from the criminal segment. I get that. Why the US mainstream media often plays along is perplexing and troubling for those looking for an accurae snapshot of what is taking place. Yes, I understand how a San Diego paper can be influenced given their proximity, but often the LA Times will cover the stories the UT won't (for poltical bias reasons as well).

In the first UT story they say it is safe for tourists- well, it wasn't for this tourist. Had they included the death of the US citizen- they couldn't have said that. Saying it is safe for toursits is just as bad as saying Baja is too dangerous to visit. Shit happens and most people understand bad things can happen anywhere. That said, why not just report the facts and let readers decide how relelvant it is to them, their travel plans and their safety? Here in Rosarito it is partly becasue the big power brokers in town not only own the largest hotels tht depend on tourism, they also own the only English language newspaper and control the message. There used to be a very honest english rag called the "Gringo Gazette" but they were run out of town for being too honest about crimes and investment scams during the last big crime wave and Trump Baja real estate fruad debacle.

IMHO the best place to find out what is really going on in Baja is to read these message boards. Not one or two- read many and read between the lines. All the boards are privately owned and with that comes their agendas and biases- just like the main stream media. Some are overly positive about Baja and some are overly negative- and there is lots of cross over. The best info comes from people who live, or have lived in Baja, have family here and know the players and the dynamics of what is taking place. No matter which board you read- you can be sure the board owner is being taunted and threatened behind the scenes to change the tone of their board and go another direction. This board is certanly no exception. Members here have expressed their desire to "let it all hang out" and this board owner respects that. He and the moderators allow all Talk Baja posters to share their views without worry of personal threats or attacks- even though he is under constant seige himself. That is honorable and we should all dig in and support each other rights to "Talk Baja" without being threatened.

(again)

Originally Posted by Woooosh

...IMHO the best place to find out what is really going on in Baja is to read these message boards...

Gotta differ there.

The problem with reading these boards is that most of the posters can't read/speak Spanish, so they have NO IDEA what is reported in Spanish language media.

Unless they rely on someone who translates.

Originally Posted by Woooosh

...why not just report the facts and let readers decide how relevant it is to them...?...

Absolute best laugh about that comment: I made that EXACT SAME one years ago on another board.

The respondent was curiously unreceptive to my suggestion.

I have another one for all we gringos:

you can either rely on someone else and TRUST them to translate for you...

or you can learn the language, and truly DECIDE FOR YOURSELF.

Originally Posted by Marty Cortez

Gotta differ there.

The problem with reading these boards is that most of the posters can't read/speak Spanish, so they have NO IDEA what is reported in Spanish language media.

Unless they rely on someone who translates. Absolute best laugh about that comment: I made that EXACT SAME one years ago on another board.

The respondent was curiously unreceptive to my suggestion.

I have another one for all we gringos:

you can either rely on someone else and TRUST them to translate for you...

or you can learn the language, and truly DECIDE FOR YOURSELF.

I see your point, but still believe "The best info comes from people who live, or have lived in Baja, have family here and know the players and the dynamics of what is taking place." You may or may not need to be fluent in Spanish to understand what is happening around you. Your eyes don't need a translator. Depending on only what is published in the MSM north or south of the border (in Spanish or English) is very limiting. The power of these message boards is many locals can fill in the blanks left behind by the media and there is great value to be had in that. An example is the Baja "travel boards" who are much more valuable than guide books because people post trip reports, driving conditions and first-hand accounts. When the subject matter moves from travel to "the news", VERBATIM English translations are fine for the majority of readers and potential tourists who will never speak Spanish. They are far better than "google translate". The conflict comes when sites only translate postive or negative stories that support the views and agenda of the board owner- folllowed by commentary. Message boards aren't fair and balanced by design and, as a result- very few (if any) are. For example: at "Maggies Madness" the focus is on the "Drug War Chronicles" with much analysis, "BajaNoMas" posts heavily about the decline of Baja and those they perceive as promoting Baja dishonestly or only for financial gain, and the BajaNomads board didn't post about this Rosarito Beach killing at all, but go out of their way to help people in distress. TalkBaja does all three without putting their eggs in one basket.

Hard to believe some don't think we are smart enough to figure out what is going on for oursleves, huh?