El Monte school board member murdered in Mexico
Published: January 5, 2010
The slaying of a Southern California school board member in Mexico last week has sparked an international outcry and demands for a complete investigation.
Augustin Roberto “Bobby” Salcedo, 33, a trustee in the El Monte City School District—as well as a district alumnus, former student body president and an assistant principal of instruction at nearby El Monte High School—was visiting relatives in the city of Gomez Palacio, some 300 miles south of the border in the state of Durango. Gunmen reportedly burst into the restaurant where Salcedo and his wife, Betzy, were dining with friends the evening of Dec. 30 and abducted six men, including Salcedo. All six were found shot to death the next day.
The city had been terrorized by drug gangs in recent weeks—its police chief gunned down, grenades lobbed at police stations, the city’s mayor kidnapped and released, according to news reports.
“From all accounts right now, it sounds random,” Carlos Salcedo, speaking of his brother’s murder, told a Los Angeles Times reporter. “There is no reason for my brother to be targeted.”
The family is seeking broad support for its call for Salcedo’s killers to be brought to justice. CSBA has answered the call, writing to President Obama and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to express the association’s sorrow and request their assistance in calling on the Mexican government to conduct a complete investigation of the murder.
Salcedo was a frequent visitor and benefactor of Gomez Palacio, a community of 240,000 people that is his wife’s hometown and a sister city to South El Monte. He'd raised money for school and medical supplies for the city and helped deliver them there, said a representative of the El Monte school district.
More than 4,000 mourners filled a district football stadium Monday to commemorate Salcedo and his service to the community. A frequent participant in CSBA events since his election to the El Monte school board in 2005, Salcedo was the board’s vice president. He was completing work on a doctorate in educational leadership at the University of California, Los Angeles, at the time of his death.
The family and community are requesting that donations be made to the Bobby Salcedo Scholarship Fund in lieu of flowers. More information is available at 626-453-3798.