(Photo: The house where gunmen broke in and killed Tecate's assistant police chief Juan Jose Soriano. Amy Isackson/KPBS)
Gunmen murdered a high ranking police officer in his Tecate, Mexico home Tuesday. The killing came less than one day after U.S. authorities discovered a tunnel used to smuggle drugs beneath the border in Tecate. KPBS Reporter Amy Isackson has the story.
Law enforcement officials in Tecate say gunmen pried open the front door of Assistant Police Chief Juan Soriano's home, went to his bedroom and fired at least 45 shots. Soriano's body was found slumped next to his bed where he slept with his wife.
The assistant chief's brick home is perched atop a dirt road in one of Tecate's more humble colonias. Yesterday afternoon, neighbors leaned against their cars and looked at the house.
Soriano's brother-in-law Pedro Sarmiento lives next door. He stared out over the dry riverbed below as he talked about what happened.
Sarmiento says when he came out, his sister, Soriano's wife was yelling, out in street screaming. And her daughters came out running. I asked her what happened and she said, "It's Juan! It's Juan! They shot him.
Sarmiento slowly pointed at the riverbed where he says they saw the gunmen escape in two pick-up trucks. Investigators say they found two vehicles ditched nearby. One had California plates. The other had no plates.
Officials were vague about what role Assistant Chief Soriano played in the tunnel discovery.They say it is one line of investigation.
Meanwhile, Mexican media report Soriano worked with Mexican federal agents to find the entrance to the tunnel in Mexico. The reports say he climbed down inside to take photos. Soriano's brother-in-law, Sarmiento, wouldn't speculate on the motive for the killing.
Samiento says now the violence has touched us. This kind of stuff happens in everyday in Tijuana. I don't remember it happening here in Tecate. Not until now, with him.
Soriano was named interim Assistant Police Chief in Tecate five days ago.
Amy Isackson, KPBS News.
