Imperial Beach city leader fatally shot at Mexican resort

Imperial Beach Administrative Services Director Doug Bradley was shot to death Thursday while vacationing in the resort city of Ixtapa in southern Mexico, Imperial Beach city officials confirmed Friday.

Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina said Bradley, a Huntington Beach native, was shot during a robbery. Bradley, who lived in Playas de Tijuana, would have celebrated his 50th birthday Friday.

“Doug was a wonderful person,� said Dedina, who described him as a “world-traveling surfer.�

Bradley was hired by the city in 2013. As administrative services director, he oversaw the city budget and fiscal functions. In that post, he also served as the city treasurer.

“He was brilliant at his job. He was always positive,� Dedina said. “You couldn’t have asked for a better person to work with.�

Dedina said everyone who knew Bradley held him in high regard.

“Doug Bradley was loved by all that knew him,� he said. “He was always positive, loved to surf, and had helped to turn around the city of Imperial Beach’s financial management as well as restructure city administration to make it more efficient and resident friendly. He will be missed by everyone who knew him and worked with him.�

According to Mexico News Daily, witnesses told local media Bradley was being chased by gunmen when he was shot with a 9-mm handgun about 4 a.m. Thursday in the hotel zone of the Pacific Coast city in the state of Guerrero. His body had lain in a parking lot for four hours before police received a report of the killing, according to the Mexico News Daily report.

Dedina said the city was working with the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City and U.S. Consulate General in Tijuana to bring Bradley’s body to the U.S.

Bradley was not married and did not have children.