San Diego

Imperial Beach Official Shot, Killed in Mexico While On Christmas Vacation

An Imperial Beach city administrator was shot and killed one day before his 50th birthday while on a Christmas vacation in central Mexico, city officials said Friday.

Imperial Beach Administrative Services Director Doug Bradley, 49, was on vacation in a resort town in Ixtapa, Mexico when he was shot and killed sometime before 8 a.m. Thursday, Imperial Beach official Ed Vea said.

Mexico’s public security agency was informed of Bradley’s death at 8 a.m. but an investigation determined he was shot hours earlier, according to Imperial Beach officials.

The events leading up to the shooting were not clear.

City officials said they were shocked to learn of Bradley’s death, just one day before he turned 50-years-old.

“Doug Bradley was loved by all that knew him,” Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina said in a statement. “He was always positive, loved to surf, and had helped to turn around the City of Imperial Beach’s financial management as well as restructure city administration to make it more efficient and resident friendly.

Bradley was an avid surfer, a culture well known in Imperial Beach as well as Huntington Beach where he was born.

“He will be missed by everyone who knew him and worked with him,” Dedina added.

Bradley’s body has not yet been returned to the United States. Imperial Beach said they are working with the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City to get his body back home.

Ixtapa is a resort city on Mexico’s Pacific coastline, about 160 miles north of Acapulco and less than 2,000 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico Border.

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