Shooting at University of Panama Leaves at Least One Dead

It has been confirmed that an armed man burst into the University of Panama and opened fire on a group of students, killing one and wounding another June 7, 2024.  The event was confirmed by the rector of the institution, Eduardo Flores, who added that everything occurred at the Veraguas Regional University Center, located in the interior of the country, about 250 kilometers southwest of the capital.  “I am informed that an unknown person opened fire on a group of Agricultural Sciences students from the Regional University Center of Veraguas, who were in a field practicing on the grounds of the Regional Center”.  

The subject approached a group of six students around 11:00 hours and, without saying a word, he shot at them.  The police immediately arrived at the scene although, at first, no details of the attacker had been released, nor whether he was killed or fled.  Later, it was indicated that the suspect climbed a fence and fled, which activated a search operation in the area.  Ambulances also arrived to assist at the scene and transported the injured man, who was hit by a bullet in the thigh while trying to flee.  The investigations have already begun and are being carried out by the Veraguas Regional Prosecutor’s Office, which classified the case under the charge of “homicide” at the educational center.   

Panama recorded a total of 556 homicides last year, that is 11% more than in 2022, figures from the Public Ministry showed.  Likewise, despite this increase, the report placed Veraguas among the most peaceful cities in the country – even in the top 10 – with between seven and nine cases each year.  Meanwhile, so far in 2024, Panama has already had 181 homicides, with only between 3% and 6% occurring in this location.  The majority of these cases – close to 70% – are attributed to organized crime groups that operate within the territory in coordination with gangs and drug traffickers, spread throughout the region.