Colombian senator Uribe in critical condition after shooting at rally

Euronews

a day ago

Colombian presidential contender Miguel Uribe remains in critical condition after being shot in the head at close range during a campaign rally in Bogota over the weekend.
Doctors treating the 39-year-old conservative senator said he had "barely" responded to medical interventions, including brain surgery, following the attempted assassination, which renewed concerns over political violence in the South American country.
Uribe was shot on Saturday while speaking to a small gathering in Bogota's Modelia district. Footage circulating on social media — which Euronews could not independently verify — shows a gunman opening fire at Uribe from close range.
Colombian authorities later said a 15-year-old boy was arrested at the scene of the attack. He had suffered an injury to the leg and was recovering at a separate clinic.
Colombia's Defence Minister Pedro Sánchez said more than 100 officers are involved in the investigation.
Outside the hospital on Sunday, hundreds of supporters assembled to pray for Uribe's recovery. Many held rosaries, while others voiced anger toward President Gustavo Petro, accusing him of fuelling political divisions.
Petro denounced the attack and urged his opponents to refrain from politicising the incident. Yet the president has frequently labelled political rivals as "oligarchs' and "enemies of the people" during recent pro-reform rallies.
"There is no way to argue that the president … who describes his opponents as enemies of the people, paramilitaries and assassins, has no responsibility in this," political analyst Andrés Mejía posted on X.
On Monday, the Colombian Senate announced it would suspend sessions indefinitely in solidarity with Uribe.
Meanwhile, nine opposition parties issued a joint statement on Monday vowing to approach international institutions to ensure "conditions of equality" they say have been denied by the current government.
They also urged Colombia's Inspector General to create a special commission to safeguard transparency and electoral security.
Attorney General Luz Adriana Camargo said that while there had been no prior threats against Uribe, his legal team had previously requested an upgrade to his security, which they claim was ignored.
His lawyer, Víctor Mosquera, has accused the National Protection Unit of negligence, stating: "His security detail had to be improved. We have to investigate whether the attack was a consequence of negligence."
Petro wrote on X on Monday that Uribe's security escort had been "strangely" reduced from seven to three bodyguards on the day of the attack, and said that he had requested a police inquiry.
A plastic surgeon in England has been jailed for life for the attempted murder of a colleague, who he stabbed after trying to set his house on fire.
Jonathan Peter Brooks, 61, broke into Graeme Perks' home in Nottinghamshire in the early hours of 14 January 2021, wearing camouflage gear and carrying a crowbar, cans of petrol, matches and a knife.
Brooks doused the ground floor of the house with petrol, but was interrupted by Perks, 65, before he could set it alight. The surgeon stabbed his recently retired colleague in the abdomen, causing life-threatening injury.
Brooks had been subject to disciplinary issues at work, and it was clear that he held a grudge against Perks for his involvement in the process, according to prosecutors.
He was convicted in April of two counts of attempted murder, one of attempted arson with intent to endanger life and one count of possession of a bladed article. On Monday, Brooks was given a minimum term of 22 years.
"Brooks committed an act of extreme violence, attempting to murder a highly respected colleague," said Samantha Shallow, a deputy chief crown prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service.
"This was a planned, calculated attack, in which Brooks showed he was determined to kill his former colleague," she said in a statement.
Brooks was sentenced over video link from prison because he had refused to leave his cell. His trial was "extremely unusual" because he was not present throughout and was not represented by a legal team, prosecutors said. Brooks' sentencing followed a four-year series of legal hearings, including a mistrial and several other aborted trial dates.
"Justice has now caught up with Brooks," Shallow added. "His victim was fortunate to escape with his life and his whole family were in danger from Brooks' inexplicable actions."
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Perks said the attack was an "unimaginable catastrophe" and that it was "ironic that a burns surgeon should wish to immolate our family".
"This has been a nightmare for my wife and son who must have wondered if I was going to survive. This has been beyond every struggle in our lives so far," Perks said.