Canadian Robin Wood, 67, was shot and killed on Tuesday (January 3) while vacationing in the seaside Mexican town of Melaque in Jalisco state, when two masked gunmen burst into the house where Wood was staying at roughly 0100 hours. Wood was residing in the house with a woman who lives in Puerto Vallarta at the time.
When the intruders demanded money and computers, Wood reportedly said, "No, No," at which point the Canadian was shot in the right side of his chest. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Wood was pronounced dead on arrival at a Melaque hospital.
COMMENT: Police say the gunman and his accomplice fled on foot from the house in downtown Melaque, a small tourist town popular with Mexican vacationers, about five kilo-meters north of the popular resort area of Barra de Navidad on the Pacific coast.
Next to the US, Mexico is the second largest travel destination for Canadians. Comparatively speaking, there are far more Canadians murdered in Mexico per 100,000 population than visitors from the US, given the considerable disparity in population in the two countries: Canada 34 million versus 300 million in the US.
I carefully follow criminal attacks on all foreign nationals that occur outside their home countries and have concluded that homicide, armed robbery and assaults and other Part 1 offenses (violent crimes) against Canadians are much higher than are similar attacks against US citizens, again because of Canada's smaller population.
Recent highly publicized attacks on Canadians have included the July 2011, robbery-murder of Judy Baylis, 64, from Ottawa in San Miguel de Allende in Guanajuato state. Also, in October 2010, Daniel Dion of Carleton Place was found dead and stuffed in the trunk of his torched rental car in southern Mexico.
It appears from media reports that Mr. Wood resisted the demands of the gunmen who broke into his house.
As I have said in all too many of my postings where armed robbery occurs, and particularly in Latin America, where most assailants carry firearms, resisting an armed robbery is NEVER a good idea.
First of all, few criminals in Mexico ever see the inside of a prison cell, largely because of the low arrest rate. Second, experienced criminals in Mexico are prepared to kill victims if they RESIST, which is why I so passionately urge against resistance. Where money and valuables are demanded, I have rarely seen victims harmed if they give up what criminals have demanded. On the other hand, I can offer countless case studies of foreigners who have been shot and killed in Mexico simply because they RESISTED.
Please: If an armed criminal demands your money or valuables, give them up willingly, as no amount of property is worth YOUR life.
