San Ysidro

In the last three days, three Mexican nationals have been shot by border bandits who prey on illegal aliens in the border area, police said.

Early Tuesday morning, Ismael Vasquez, 38, of Guanajuato, was found lying in the dry Otay River bed four miles north of the border, with bullet wounds to his legs, police spokesman Bill Robinson said.

According to Robinson, Vasquez was walking near the end of the line of a group of people about 3 a.m. when they heard a man say in Spanish: “Stop and throw yourselves on the ground.”

The group scattered and Vasquez was shot with a pistol as he ran away, Robinson said.

Police were called about 6 a.m., when someone reported hearing screams from the river bed, Robinson said.

Vasquez was taken to UC San Diego Medical Center, where he was listed in fair condition, spokeswoman Eileen Callahan said.

Sunday morning about 3:15, Domingo de Jesus Luna, 21, and his cousin, Marcelino de Jesus Acevedo, 23, both of Oaxaca, were shot with a .22-caliber rifle as they backed away from two men they had come across in the canyon area between Interstate 805 and Beyer Boulevard. The men told them to “put your hands up or you die,” Robinson said.

The cousins told the Border Patrol agents who found them that there seemed to be 10 or 12 people already lying face down in the road.

Luna, shot in the upper right thigh, was treated at Chula Vista Community Hospital.

Acevedo, shot in the chest, was taken to UCSD Medical Center, where he is listed in serious condition, according to a spokeswoman.