Shooting near Parque Reforma
García Gutiérrez, who was originally from Oaxaca, was killed on Sunday, November 1, 2026. Reports placed the shooting between 7 and 8 p.m., with El Debate giving an approximate time of 7:53 p.m.
The attack occurred at Acueducto and Simón Bolívar streets beside Parque Reforma, in the Reforma neighborhood of Tijuana's Sánchez Taboada delegation. Baja California state prosecutors recovered three spent 9mm shell casings. No arrests had been reported.
According to official records and recurring complaints from businesses cited by El Debate, Sánchez Taboada has led Baja California in intentional homicides and complaints of extortion, known as "cobro de piso," for more than 15 years.
A march honoring Carlos Manzo
Earlier that day, García Gutiérrez joined a Tijuana march commemorating Manzo. In an interview there with the weekly ZETA, he criticized the government's response to criminal groups, saying he believed authorities had not focused their efforts on combating them.
Manzo founded the Movimiento del Sombrero, or Hat Movement, and served as the independent mayor of Uruapan. He was shot dead on November 1, 2025, during the Festival de las Velas in the city's Plaza Morelos.
On October 16, 2026, Michoacán prosecutors said the CJNG cartel had ordered Manzo's killing in retaliation for the August 27, 2025, arrest of a local boss known as "El Rino." Prosecutors reported that 33 people had been detained. No trial verdict had been announced, according to The Rio Times.
Movement leader says political link is unproven
Leopoldo Sánchez, the movement's Baja California leader, attributed García Gutiérrez's killing to everyday criminal violence. Although he said he could not rule out a connection to the movement's activities, he had no evidence establishing a political link. He also said the group had previously received veiled threats.
The Mesa Estatal Ciudadana de Baja California condemned the killing and urged all three levels of government to act. The civic group highlighted extortion as a security problem affecting families and small merchants across the state.
