Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

90 Tijuana schools vandalized

Toilets, sinks, office equipment, maintenance tools, electrical installations, doors, fences, pipes, lamps stolen

Principal Cristian Gastelum calculates that 60 percent of the school infrastructure was stolen or vandalized.
Principal Cristian Gastelum calculates that 60 percent of the school infrastructure was stolen or vandalized.

At least 90 schools in Tijuana were vandalized during the pandemic, most of them in the east zone of the city.

Benemerito de las Americas II elementary school's principal calculates that 60 percent of the school infrastructure was stolen or vandalized.

Stolen toilets

The principal, Cristian Gastelum, said that parents of the students have seen stolen equipment from the school for sale in the neighborhood's street markets. “They’ve reported them to the police, but they’re very busy and never come immediately. They have to respond first to shootings, robberies, and things like that."

Sponsored
Sponsored

The elementary school is located in El Laurel neighborhood on the east side, an area that has grown rapidly in the last few years. According to Gastelum, they have had support from the police department for parents to watch the school.

"We can't take the risk to stop them; it can be dangerous."

"We have a parents' committee to organize surveillance and keep the school safe, but we have nobody to stay at night." Because of the pandemic, burglars took advantage of the school being closed. "We have seen them stealing during the day, but we can't take the risk to stop them; it can be dangerous; sometimes they are drugged."

Toilets, sinks, office equipment, maintenance tools, electrical installations, doors, fences, pipes, and lamps were stolen. Irma Martinez, who is in charge of the educational system in Tijuana, says that restoring those 90 schools will probably cost millions of pesos.

Stolen sinks

Even Gastelum was a victim of a break-in in his house when living in that area, which made him look to move out of the neighborhood. "I have explained that because of the risk, a person needs to be hired for the night watch and should be provided by the system. "If any of us do the job and get injured I'm the one who has to take responsibility."

Parents have organized themselves to restore the school. The state government has started to talk about re-opening the schools, but with vandalized schools, that looks far away.

“There’s graffiti on the blackboards. That just shows the bad intentions of those who did it," principal Gastelum stated.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Wild Wild Wets, Todo Mundo, Creepy Creeps, Laura Cantrell, Graham Nancarrow

Rock, Latin reggae, and country music in Little Italy, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Harbor Island
Principal Cristian Gastelum calculates that 60 percent of the school infrastructure was stolen or vandalized.
Principal Cristian Gastelum calculates that 60 percent of the school infrastructure was stolen or vandalized.

At least 90 schools in Tijuana were vandalized during the pandemic, most of them in the east zone of the city.

Benemerito de las Americas II elementary school's principal calculates that 60 percent of the school infrastructure was stolen or vandalized.

Stolen toilets

The principal, Cristian Gastelum, said that parents of the students have seen stolen equipment from the school for sale in the neighborhood's street markets. “They’ve reported them to the police, but they’re very busy and never come immediately. They have to respond first to shootings, robberies, and things like that."

Sponsored
Sponsored

The elementary school is located in El Laurel neighborhood on the east side, an area that has grown rapidly in the last few years. According to Gastelum, they have had support from the police department for parents to watch the school.

"We can't take the risk to stop them; it can be dangerous."

"We have a parents' committee to organize surveillance and keep the school safe, but we have nobody to stay at night." Because of the pandemic, burglars took advantage of the school being closed. "We have seen them stealing during the day, but we can't take the risk to stop them; it can be dangerous; sometimes they are drugged."

Toilets, sinks, office equipment, maintenance tools, electrical installations, doors, fences, pipes, and lamps were stolen. Irma Martinez, who is in charge of the educational system in Tijuana, says that restoring those 90 schools will probably cost millions of pesos.

Stolen sinks

Even Gastelum was a victim of a break-in in his house when living in that area, which made him look to move out of the neighborhood. "I have explained that because of the risk, a person needs to be hired for the night watch and should be provided by the system. "If any of us do the job and get injured I'm the one who has to take responsibility."

Parents have organized themselves to restore the school. The state government has started to talk about re-opening the schools, but with vandalized schools, that looks far away.

“There’s graffiti on the blackboards. That just shows the bad intentions of those who did it," principal Gastelum stated.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The Fellini of Clairemont High

When gang showers were standard for gym class
Next Article

Wild Wild Wets, Todo Mundo, Creepy Creeps, Laura Cantrell, Graham Nancarrow

Rock, Latin reggae, and country music in Little Italy, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Harbor Island
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader