SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KGTV) — Two San Diego professors were caught up in the chaos in Tijuana as violence erupted throughout the city over the weekend.
Members of a cartel set fire to around two dozen cars and terrorized the streets.
Two USD professors, Craig and Linda Barkacs, were in Tijuana teaching a class of 22 students on Friday evening when the attacks broke out.
The married couple says they knew something was wrong when the class suddenly seemed restless and students were anxiously checking their phones.
“They had been great students paying attention…asking questions…the next thing I know I can’t get their attention,” said Linda.
That’s when school officials told them about the violence happening outside.
“Next thing we knew we were being evacuated and they had a driver waiting for us,” said Linda.
The couple says their driver carefully navigated the city to avoid the violence and get them back to their hotel.
They were told to stay there as it would be too dangerous to head back to the U.S. during the attacks.
"You could see off in the distance a lot of police lights going on and a lot of activity. We could definitely see the smoke and a lot of police vehicles,” said Craig.
Early Saturday morning, they were escorted across the border just hours before the state department warned Americans in Tijuana to shelter in place.
“We feel like there was a very narrow window for us and thanks to the quick thinking of the people we dealt with in Mexico, they were able to get us out in that window,” said Craig.
