By Alejandro Martínez
Editor and photojournalist Abel López Aguilar was killed on Monday early morning in the Mexican border city of Tijuana, in the state of Baja California Norte, several national and international media outlets informed.
But despite several articles reporting on López Aguilar's alleged kidnapping hours before, state authorities have said the killing was not related to the journalist's work.
The weekly Proceso reported that López Aguilar, identified as the editor of the news website Tijuana Informativo, was kidnapped by a group of armed men on Sunday afternoon and found with a shot in the head on Monday around 5 a.m. EFE reported that the 53-year-old journalist has been identified by his family.
Baja California Norte authorities told Proceso that they are investigating whether the crime was related to his work as a journalist.
However, news site Tijuana Press reported that state authorities and López Aguilar's colleagues said that the killing was not connected to his profession. According to CNN Noticias, the state prosecutor's office has already discarded the killing was connected to López Aguilar's work. The law enforcement agency has also arrested López Aguilar's son-in-law, who was allegedly drinking with the journalist the night before. Tets suggested the young man had recently used a gun, CNN Noticias reported.
Other Tijuana photographers demanded the crime is solved and called authorities to continue investigating since witnesses said López Aguilar was kidnapped before being killed, UniradioInforma.com reported.
Update: The news website La Silla Rota reported on Wednesday that López Aguilar's son-in-law, Raúl Vázquez, confessed to the crime and will be presented by state authorities to local media as their main suspect.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
