Colombia presidential candidate shot by 15 year old

The headlines may be shocking, but the truth is even more so. On Saturday, conmotion spread across the nation when in Bogotá, 39-year-old Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, a rising star in Colombia’s conservative Democratic Centre party and a serious contender for the 2026 presidency, was shot three times, twice in the head.

Uribe was attacked in a park while speaking to supporters. A 15-year old suspect was arrested by police at the scene, carrying a 9mm Glock pistol.

Gustavo Petro said The State must safeguard the integrity of 15-year old boy who is heard in several videos saying he’ll give the phone numbers to those who hired him for the assassination of presidential candidate. The State has a primary responsibility to protect the child’s life, as he is still a minor. Petro stated that, despite how terrible it may sound, Colombian children are protected. This was not well received by the majority. his statement had On X. 

Protest against Petro at Uribe clinic

Dozens were shouting The hospital where Uribe had surgery. Most on X said that those people did not care at all about the Uribe matter. One person, @mamerto0“You’re a scumbag for going to shout outside of a clinic, as if it was a stadium and Miguel Uribe Turbay battles for his survival.”

Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez deplored the “vile attack” and offered a 3bn peso ($730,000; £540,000) reward for information about who may have been behind it.

Uribe was about to enter a park in order to speak with his supporters when he walked into a nightmare. Just meters away from the stage, he was wounded. Blood stained the ground as his supporters fled. The attack on Colombia is a terrifying echo from its past. Memories of campaign violence linger, from the 1989 assassination of Luis Carlos Galán at a political rally to unnamed candidates killed on airport runways. On Colombian soil, the hope has been slain too many times. Uribe’s democratic ambition, which aims to replace the left-wing incumbent Gustavo Petro in Colombia, has always been fraught with risk, as the country struggles to overcome armed conflict.

Pablo Escobar abducted his mother

The immediate aftermath of violence transcends political lines. The opposition senators called on unity and improved protection measures while Petro and Uribe’s supporters condemned any justified violence.

The Defence Minister has ordered that all candidates’ campaign security protocols be reviewed. Marco Rubio of the U.S. Department of State, among others, has raised alarm. Rubio was quick to point out the inflammatory rhetoric, but he did not name names.

Uribe’s personal story is often overlooked amid political debates and other emotional scenes. His mother, journalist Diana Turbay is not new to tragedy. was kidnapped The cartel was led by Pablo Escobar associates in 1990 and the victim died after a failed rescue. 

Violence has returned to him, now, two generations after he was first abused. It raises urgent questions. Why would an 18-year-old pull the trigger in broad daylight? Who is behind this attack and who aided it? In today’s Colombia, how safe is it for a candidate to run?

What is he doing?

Petro later asked Colombians for their best wishes to Uribe on what he called a “day filled with pain” a video A message to the nation. Uribe said there was a “political disagreement” between him and the government but that it was only “political”.

“What matters most today is that all Colombians focus with the energy of our hearts, with our will to live… on ensuring that Dr Miguel Uribe stays alive,” the president added.

Here is Colombia’s latest caution. The bullets that almost killed Uribe are a warning: the political space is still in dispute. How the nation responds—through law enforcement, security reforms and political tone—will say everything about whether democracy here can survive another shock.