Two other students were injured in an attack carried out by three bandits.
At least the dead apprentice and two other injured are the result of an armed attack committed this Thursday at school in the Caribbean province of Colón, an area of economic importance in Panama but affected by drug smuggling, violence and gangs. The event, so far unprecedented in Panama, took place this afternoon at the Rufo Garay school when three unknown persons entered the facility, guns in hand, shooting at students, one of whom, 15, died from being struck by bullets. two others were injured.
Initial investigations by authorities show that bandits would be dressed in school uniforms to be able to enter the school, the newspaper La Prensa reported.
This act of violence is seen as gang problem that operate in this sector, Colon published the local tabloid Crítica, which listed, according to testimony, that those who attacked the school buildings were “the three hooded bandits” in the middle of the celebrations of the student fair.
According to the newspaper, the police completely evacuated the educational institution. Youth Attorney General Colón and Guna Yala of the Ministry of Public Affairs announced on Thursday that an investigation into the crime against life and personal integrity for the murder of a student has already begun. Panama’s Ministry of Education (Meduca) said in a statement that it “will be under investigation to find those guilty of what happened” in the incident for which no arrests have yet been made. The unit called for “the rejection of all forms of violence and the promotion of peaceful coexistence in educational facilities and communities in the country.”
The city of Colón, located on the coast of the Caribbean Sea and 80 kilometers north of the capital, is one of the poorest and most conflicting in the country, and its streets witness endless gang fights, settlements and homicides.
