Recently, media reports have been circulating about a series of three shootings that took place in San Diego County, California over the past two months. Speculations have arisen suggesting that these incidents may be a result of the violent activities of Mexican drug cartels extending their reach into the city of San Diego.
ABC10 TV reported that the shootings in San Diego County in February and March this year are currently under investigation to determine any potential links to Mexican drug cartels. However, officials have remained tight-lipped about the possible connections between these three shooting incidents and the Mexican drug trafficking organizations.
On the evening of February 17, a fatal shooting occurred outside a luxury apartment building near the UTC shopping center in San Diego. The suspect approached a BMW car preparing to enter the underground parking lot and opened fire on two individuals inside. A 35-year-old man died from the gunshot wounds, while a 39-year-old man sustained injuries. Authorities described the shooting as a targeted attack, with the suspect leaving the scene on foot.
The deceased victim was later identified as Christian Espinoza Silver, also known as El Chato, a reputed member of a drug trafficking group in Mexico according to borderlandbeat.com.
Further, on March 26 and 27, two separate shooting incidents took place within a few hours in Chula Vista, a city in southern San Diego County.
On the night of March 26, James Bryant Corona was shot in the head outside a Chili’s restaurant. Mexican officials revealed that Corona was supposedly the head of a new criminal organization related to a drug cartel and was considered one of the “major producers of violence” in Tijuana and Baja California. Corona was also known by the alias El Apache.
Just hours later, around 1:30 am on March 27, another shooting took place in a luxury rental apartment in Chula Vista, where a woman called the police to report that her friend had been shot in the head and later succumbed to injuries at the hospital. Two 15-year-old suspects were arrested by the authorities on the same day.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, sources indicated that these three shooting incidents are connected and are associated with a residue organization of a powerful drug cartel that was dismantled by the United States over a decade ago.
The question arises: is the drug violence from Mexico spreading to San Diego?
While experts interviewed by ABC10 suggest that the violence from Mexican drug cartels is unlikely to cross the border and affect San Diego, personal accounts from locals paint a different picture. A student at the University of California, San Diego shared that Silver, the individual killed in the UTC shooting in February, lived next door to a friend. There were rumors circulating that the deceased was a member of a drug trafficking organization, causing fear among those who were close to the incident.
Furthermore, a Mexican-American student who attended San Diego State University mentioned that even in the United States, they are cautious about revealing their real identities online to avoid being tracked by drug cartels who may target not only individuals but also their family members, relatives, or friends.
In conclusion, while authorities are investigating the connections between the recent shootings in San Diego County and the activities of Mexican drug cartels, the incidents have raised concerns among residents and heightened the awareness of the potential spillover of drug violence into the region. The impact of such criminal activities on the safety and security of the community remains a pressing issue that requires continued vigilance and cooperation between law enforcement agencies and the public.