American Says He Was Pistol-Whipped in Mexico

A U.S. citizen who says he was pistol-whipped in Mexico was rushed to the hospital after collapsing on a bus bench Tuesday evening, San Diego police say.

The man in his 40s first drew attention as he walked into the U.S. with a large head wound through the Otay Mesa Port of Entry. Customs and Border Protection officers asked him if he needed help, but he declined, police say.

"He came across with a serious head injury. It looked like, to the medics at the time who were here, that it was a gunshot wound," said Lt. Dan Smyth with the SDPD.

But the man told investigators he had been pistol-whipped while in Mexico.

Witness Faustino Cipriano said he watched the stranger stagger down the sidewalk, covered in blood. 

Medical staff followed him as he walked down the street. When he reached a bus stop on Via de la Amistad, he collapsed.

Emergency crews took the man to Mercy Hospital for non-life threatening injuries.

Smyth said the SDPD will take a courtesy report for violent crimes that happen in Mexico, but it will be up to the man to decide if he wants to file a report across the border.

"We won't do any investigating for a crime that happened in Mexico, but we will assist Mexican authorities in their investigation," said the lieutenant.

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