A prisoner who escaped from a Delano courthouse last December has allegedly been involved in a fatal shootout in Mexico.

Law enforcement officials say Cesar Hernandez, 34, was involved in a firefight Wednesday afternoon when U.S. and Mexican officers tried to arrest him in the Barcelona neighborhood of Tijuana, about 30 miles from the U.S. Mexico border.

Mexican media outlets reported a Mexican police commander was killed in the gunfight. No U.S. officers were injured.

Hernandez reportedly escaped capture and remains on the run.

The operation involved a task force of U.S. Marshals and the Mexican State Force for Citizen Security who were searching for several fugitives including Hernandez.

Hernandez was serving 80 years to life for first degree murder and escaped from custody December 2, 2024, as state prison guards were preparing to take him inside the Delano courthouse for a hearing on another case.