TIJUANA, Mexico – A journalist was abducted and murdered Monday in this Mexican border metropolis, the Baja California state Attorney General’s Office said.

Ramon Abel Lopez Aguilar, 53, was a photographer and editor of the news Web site Tijuana Informativo.

His body was found on a street in Tijuana just hours after he was snatched from his home in the city’s Guaycura neighborhood, the state AG’s office said.

Lopez Aguilar died of a single gunshot wound to the head, according to the official statement.

The body was positively identified by the victim’s family, who had called police earlier to report the pre-dawn kidnapping.

Around 80 news professionals have been murdered in Mexico since 2000, earning the country the dubious distinction of being one of the world’s most dangerous places for journalists. EFE