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Colombian presidential candidate shot twice in head at rally, is critical

Khaleej Times | June 8, 2025 4:39 PM CST

Miguel Uribe, a candidate in next year's Colombian presidential election, was shot three times, including twice in the head, during a campaign event in Bogota Saturday, paramedics said.

The 39-year-old right-wing opposition senator suffered two gunshot wounds to the head and one to the knee, according to the medical personnel who treated him.

A video circulating on social media shows Uribe giving a speech in front of several people when gunshots suddenly ring out. In other images he appears slumped against the hood of a white car, smeared with blood, as a group of men try to hold him up.

The government of leftist President Gustavo Petro said it "categorically and forcefully" condemned the attack on Uribe during the campaign event in the west of the capital.

"This act of violence is an attack not only against his person, but also against democracy, freedom of thought, and the legitimate exercise of politics in ," the presidency said in the statement.

People carry Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay to an ambulance after he was shot on June 7, 2025, in this screengrab from a video. Photo: Reuters

Uribe, a strong critic of Petro, is a member of the Democratic Center party, led by the influential former president Alvaro Uribe, who governed Colombia from 2002 to 2010. Last October he announced his intention to run in the 2026 presidential election.

Bogota Mayor Carlos Galan said on X that Miguel Uribe was "receiving emergency care," adding that "the shooter has been captured."

Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez meanwhile said on X that authorities were offering a reward of around $700,000 for information leading to the capture of those behind the attack.

The military and police leadership were holding a meeting to "devise a strategy to address the situation," the minister said.