MEXICO CITY – A U.S. citizen shot and killed on Wednesday a top state Mexican police officer in an elite unit known as “the Gringo Hunters,” which dedicates itself to arresting U.S. suspects who are fugitives in Mexico.

Authorities say the unit was trying to arrest a suspect in the northern Mexican border city of Tijuana when the man opened fire, hitting 33-year-old Abigail Esparza Reyes, the head of the unit in the northern border state of Baja California.

She died from the injury, authorities said. They did not name the suspect. Local media reports the man escaped from the scene disguised as a cleaner.

A state security source told Reuters the fugitive was wanted in the U.S. for murder.

Mexico has for decades been seen as a place to escape U.S. law enforcement. In 2002 the unit nicknamed “Gringo Hunters” was started to cooperate with U.S. authorities and apprehend fugitives who cross the border.

According to authorities, Esparza Reyes had led the regional team of the unit for eight years, carrying out more than 400 operations aimed at arresting U.S. fugitives who had fled to Mexico.

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico did not respond to a request for comment.

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