San Ysidro
A Mexican man who crossed the international border illegally Monday afternoon was ambushed and shot twice by six men wearing red bandannas over their faces.
San Diego Police spokesman Bill Robinson said the bandits surrounded Cruz C. Araujo, 25, of Baja California, and demanded his money. Four of them held knives and one had a .38 caliber pistol. Araujo resisted but was forced to lie on the ground and the man with the gun shot him twice, under the left arm and in the right forearm.
The ambush occurred 4 1/2 miles east of the San Ysidro port of entry near Goat’s Canyon, Robinson said. No money was taken.
Araujo was taken by Life Flight to UC San Diego Medical Center, where he was reported in stable condition.
Ed Pyeatt, spokesman for the Border Patrol, said police and border patrol agents took eight suspects into custody for questioning but released several of them. No arrests were made.
Pyeatt said an average of 10 illegal aliens fall victim to bandits at the border each week.
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