San Diego Sisters Escape Attempted Kidnapping in Mexico

Two San Diego, Calif., women are safely back home after an attempted kidnapping in Mexico.

The sisters drove across the border to Tijuana on Monday to pick up rent money from two tenants staying at a home the family owned, but the trip quickly turned into a nightmare, reports NBC San Diego.

Amy Hernandez, 18, dropped off her sister and two family friends and waited in the car. Thirty seconds later, Hernandez heard a gunshot and then heard her sister screaming. She sped to the nearest gas station to call police.

When police arrived, they discovered that several gunmen had tied up Hernandez's sister, the friends, and the renters and demanded ransom money.

“They beat up my sister . . . they choked her,” Hernandez said. “They put fingers inside her mouth so she couldn't scream.”

The two tenants of the home masterminded the whole thing and pretended to be victims, according to NBC San Diego.

Police arrested Claudia Tapia, 35, and Cesar Escalera, 36, along with others.

Hernandez said she and her sister have gone to Tijuana countless times without incident.

After this, she said, “I'm not going back to Tijuana. Not at all.”