3 days ago
EXCLUSIVE Arizona gun shop at center of plot to assassinate Colombian presidential candidate
The gun used by a teenager to shoot a Colombian presidential candidate was 'acquired' through an Arizona gun shop, law enforcement source has revealed Monday.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told El Tiempo newspaper that Juan Sebastían Rodríguez Casallas, 14, shot Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay with a 9mm Glock what was bought on August 6, 2020.
The source also said that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) was also able to confirm that the weapon has been purchased at AJI Sporting Goods in Mesa.
In addition, the law enforcement agent told the outlet that the ATF was able to identify the name of the purchase, Charles Joe Anderson.
'It is a model of Austrian origin, unusual in actions of this type within the country, which has activated protocols to track its arrival in the hands of the hitman,' the official said.
Colombian National Police director, General Carlos Triana, said during a press conference Monday also confirmed that the weapon was legally purchased in Arizona and said investigators were looking into how the gun made its way to Colombia.
An ATF spokesperson told that it could not confirm or deny the report.
AJI Sporting Goods owner, Jeff Serdy, told that he had not been contacted by federal officials from Colombia and the United States as of Monday.
Serdy confirmed that Anderson acquired the weapon via a 'transfer' and that his gun shop received a $30 fee.
'For the record all state and federal laws were very strictly followed during this transaction,' Serdy said.
The gun was purchased from another store, whose name Serdy was unable to share.
A 2024 Colombian National Police report showed that at least 3,954 guns that seized were made in the United States. Another 805 were manufactured in Italy and 414 were made in Germany.
Video footage showed Senator Uribe Turbay, who is planning to run in the 2026 presidential elections, addressing a crowd of about 250 residents Saturday afternoon in Fontibon, a neighborhood in the Colombia capital city of Bogotá.
Rodríguez Casallas could be seen standing several feet away from Uribe Turbay, who was starting to make his point about how his administration would combat mental illness, when he shot the lawmaker in the back of the head and fired about five more shots.
A surveillance video showed the teen shooter racing out of the park and running down a street as Uribe Turbay's bodyguards chased after him.
A second video showed Rodríguez Casallas hobbling towards a gated residential complex and then turning around to aim his gun at the guards.
Uribe Turbay underwent surgery at Fundación Sante Fe, a clinic where he is hospitalized.
The medical facility said in a statement Monday morning that the presidential hopeful 'remains in critical condition and has had little response to the interventions and medical treatments performed.'
Uribe Turbay's wife, María Claudia Tarazona, took to Instagram, where she posted a heartfelt photo of her hands placed over the senator's chest.
'I ask you with all my heart, don't stop praying. Miguel needs a miracle,' she wrote.
Uribe Turbay's uncle, Julio César Uribe, told reporters outside the hospital Monday that the senator's condition is 'very delicate but only doctors have the answer.'
Authorities launched an operation in Villas de Alcalas, the neighborhood where Rodríguez Casallas lives with his aunt.
The teen, who suffered a gun shot wound and is hospitalized at a clinic under the supervision of 50 police officers, told cops that he received orders from the leader of a drug dealing gang to carry out the shooting.
'It was the man from the (spot), I'll tell you who it was, let me give you the numbers,' Rodríguez Casallas said as he was being placed under arrest.
A law enforcement source told El Tiempo that a unit of 20 cops were dispatched to the neighborhood.
'There are door-to-door inquiries asking for the name of the person who controls traffic in one of the parks in the area,' they said.
