Casco parking dispute leads to shooting

THE IMAGE of Panama’s historic Casco Viejo already suffering under delayed street repairs, government seizure of “non-developed” properties and encirclement by a six lane highway, has received another blow … a shooting

The close knit community, including a large body of expats is concerned about a recent incident when a visitor to the old city was shot during a dispute that started with a second demand for $5 for parking and ended up with an attempted pistol point robbery.

The driver gunned the engine and drove away from the robbers, but not before one of the occupants was shot, and although out of hospital a bullet is permanently lodged in a bone.
AVAC, the local community and Friends of Casco association has been handling messages from concerned residents, negotiating with the police. Providing updates and arranging meetings.
There have been previous flurries of emails reporting thefts and concerns overt he activities of bien ciudados, and in an area that included the presidential palace there appears to be a police office on every corner.
In the past there have been stories true or apocryphal, of the lid being kept on street robbery reports, for fear of damaging the areas image as a safe place to live and invest.
The lid was lifted off the latest incident with a rush to Facebook ( allegedly even before  it was reported to police) and a follow up by Panama’s pre-eminent tourism weekly The Visitor/Visistante.