A 79-year-old man from California’s San Bernardino was beaten to death while delivering donations to the poor in Mexico’s Tijuana, according to authorities and the man’s family. Rudy Lazo was killed during an apparent robbery in mid-April. His body was discovered on April 19. According to a report carried by NBC last Saturday (April 29), Lazo’s son and daughter said their father would often make trips from his home in San Bernardino to deliver toys and necessities to families in Tijuana.

Rudy’s son Juan Carlos said that his father was a very generous person and helped anyone out. Carlos travelled to Mexico to find Rudy’s body. He believed that his father was killed during a robbery.

“He didn’t deserve it. Actually no, no human being deserves this,” Carlos said. 

The NBC report said that Rudy’s truck and personal items were never found and his family pointed out that Mexican authorities made no arrests. 

His daughter Claudia Hernandez said that the situation in Tijuana is very dangerous. “So dangerous and he probably thought he wasn’t going to have problems because he is a senior citizen,” Hernandez added. 

Rudy Lazo immigrated to the US from El Salvador in the 1980s and was working as a truck driver. Lazo’s family said he had a big heart and a desire to give to those in need. The 79-year-old even had plans to build a community Centre in Tijuana.

His killing comes months after the US State Department warned American citizens to avoid travelling to parts of Mexico over fears of kidnapping and other crimes across multiple states. 

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, US and Mexican officials agreed on new immigration policies meant to deter illegal border crossings while also opening up other pathways ahead of an expected increase in migrants after the end of Covid restrictions next week. 

As per the agreement, Mexico would continue to accept migrants from Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba and Nicaragua who have been turned away at the border, and up to 100,000 individuals from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador who have family in the US would be eligible to live and work there.