Presidential Hopeful Shot and Severely Injured in Colombia

A presidential candidate in Colombia was shot and gravely injured during an occurrence at Bogota , according to reports.

A senator named Miguel Uribe Turbay was in a serious condition, and authorities have apprehended a suspect in connection with this incident, according to the Agence France Presse news agency.

Initial reports indicated that he was hit either in the head or in the back.

The mayor of Bogota Carlos Galán, as cited by CNN, stated that Uribe was undergoing urgent medical care following an assault in the Fontibon neighborhood on Saturday.

In a statement Colombia The president's office denounced the assault.

It stated: "The National Government firmly and decisively rejects the assault that Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay of the Republic suffered in the past few hours."

Disturbing videos and images circulating on social media seemed to depict Uribe getting hit while he was speaking to a group of people; stunned bystanders fleeing the location; an individual being restrained on the ground by police officers; and what looked like bloodstains splattered across the front of a car.

Uribe, aged 39, is the offspring of Diana Turbay, a journalist who was abducted by the Medellin A drug cartel member who was killed during a failed rescue attempt in 1991, just three days prior to her son's fifth birthday. Her father was Julio César Turbay Ayala, who was the President of Colombia from 1978 to 1982.

He belongs to the opposing Conservative Democratic Center party and is campaigning for the presidency in 2026.

The party issued a statement deeming the apparent assassination attempt as an "unacceptable act of violence."

Colombia's Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez stated that a suspect has been detained in connection with the shooting, and investigations are underway to determine if additional individuals were involved. Sanchez mentioned that he had traveled to the hospital where Uribe was receiving treatment.

For many years, this South American nation has found itself entangled in a struggle involving left-wing guerrillas, criminal organizations that originated from right-wing paramilitary forces, and the government.

President Gustavo Petro, who leans left, expressed his sympathy for the senator's family in a post on X, stating, “I am unsure how to alleviate your suffering. This grief mirrors that of a mother who has lost her child, as well as the sorrow felt by our nation.”

With reporting from Reuters

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