A three-year-old girl was killed and a 13-year-old girl was injured in an armed attack took place in a sector of the impoverished and violent province of Colón, Panama’s Caribbean region, where gangs and drug trafficking are rampant, police authorities and local media reported Monday.

The event took place on Sunday afternoon at least then An armed man broke into a sports activity that was taking place on a soccer field in the La Playita neighborhood, shooting at another who, according to press reports, was unharmed.

But the bullets hit the minors. The three-year-old girl died from a gunshot to the abdomen, while the 13-year-old girl was hit in the side, back and foot and remains in hospital. in fragile condition, according to local media.

Deputy Commissioner Hermogenes Argüelles, director of the Colón police district, said on Monday that a person “possibly” linked to the attack has been detained, while the arrest of a man “directly linked to the attack” has been ordered.

Panama recorded 177 homicides through April 30, 29% more (40 cases) than in the same period of 2022, according to statistics from the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP, Public Prosecution Service). Five of the registered victims in the first four months of this year were minors according to the available data.

16% or 28 of the deaths between January and April occurred in Colón, the third most violent province in the country, surpassed only by Panama (37%) and the neighboring district of San Miguelito (24%), according to statistics. the parquet