COLON, Panama (AP) 鈥 A member of Panama鈥檚 national soccer team was hanging out with friends in front of the building where his mother lives, when gunmen in a taxi opened fire, killing Gilberto Hern谩ndez and wounding seven others in the country鈥檚 violent port city of Colon, police and witnesses said Monday.
Hern谩ndez, a 26-year-old defender, was the second member of the national team killed in Colon in the past six years. Authorities on Monday announced the arrest of one suspect in Sunday's killing.
Colon sits 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Panama City, where ships enter or exit the Caribbean Sea through the .
鈥淗e was with childhood friends and they planned to go to the beach in the afternoon when the shooting happened," said a worker at a nearby restaurant who gave only her first name as Rosa, fearing retaliation. 鈥漌e're sad, the street is mourning."
Police were positioned on a nearby corner at a church Monday afternoon. Early Monday, authorities arrested one suspect in a raid on an apartment complex in Colon. The suspect was not identified and no motive has been given.
Panama's Colon province, with a population of about 300,000, recorded 102 homicides last year, nine fewer than the year before, according to government data. Authorities blame much of the violence on drug trafficking competition.
The province has historically suffered high unemployment and high levels of poverty. Residents say shootings like the one that killed Hern谩ndez have become routine.
鈥淩ight now crime is at another level,鈥 said Antonio Smith, a 60-year-old resident in the area. 鈥淲e need to do something like Bukele,鈥 he said in reference to the , who has jailed tens of thousands in an all-out war against street gangs.
Smith said that Monday morning there was another shooting near the site of the attack that killed Hern谩ndez. 鈥淚t's a daily occurrence. You haven't even had your breakfast when you hear it,鈥 he said of the neighborhood's gunfire.
In 2017, midfielder in Colon province. He was a member of Panama's national team, which qualified for the 2018 World Cup for the first time in its history.
Hern谩ndez played for Independent Athletic Club, the reigning champion of Panama鈥檚 professional soccer league.
On the national team, Hern谩ndez played a friendly match against world champion Argentina in March. Panama lost the game 2-0 in Buenos Aires. Afterward, Hern谩ndez and other teammates took photos with .
Manuel Arias, president of the Panamanian Soccer Federation, wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that Hern谩ndez was 鈥渁 professional player who today lost his life, sadly for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.鈥 He added that it was an example of 鈥渢he violence that shakes our society and which we must combat.鈥
