Man Dressed as a Doctor Kills Patient Inside Santo Tomás Hospital Panama

Panama City, Panama:  On Friday, December 13, an alarming incident was reported at the Santo Tomás Hospital, where a man, disguised as a medical staff member, entered the premises and shot a Colombian patient. The victim had been hospitalized after surviving an attack that occurred on Friday, December 6 on Calle 76, San Francisco.  According to preliminary reports, the patient had been recovering for a week from the injuries sustained during the previous attack. The attacker managed to evade the hospital’s private security and, with prior knowledge, went directly to the room where his victim was hospitalized, committing the murder. 

The attacker left the hospital on a motorcycle , which he left a few meters from the scene. He was later picked up by a vehicle whose license plate has already been identified by the authorities. At this time, the National Police and the Public Prosecutors Office maintain an ongoing operation to find the whereabouts of those responsible. For its part, the Homicide and Femicide Section of the Metropolitan Prosecutor’s Office reported that it continues to carry out investigations at the hospital facilities following this incident.

At the crime scene, agents from the Judicial Investigation Directorate (DIJ) are collecting evidence and interviewing hospital security personnel. According to official sources, security measures have been reinforced at the Santo Tomás Hospital and possible flaws in the protocols that allowed the attacker to enter the premises without being detected are being evaluated.  Authorities have confirmed that the attacker used a health worker disguise to evade controls. This incident has raised concern and reopened the debate on the need to strengthen security in hospital facilities to avoid this type of situation. More details are expected to be provided in the next few hours about this serious incident that has shocked the community and put the country’s health institutions on alert.