Panama: Soccer player Gilberto Hernández shot dead

A Panamanian national team soccer player has been killed in a shooting in his home country. The 26-year-old defender Gilberto Hernández from the first division club Atlético Independiente died in an armed attack on a group of people in the Caribbean port city of Colón, according to the Central American country’s police.

A suspected perpetrator, who goes by the name “Chekiro”, was arrested after several raids, the authority said on Monday. Pictures of the arrest of the suspect were shown in Panamanian newspapers. Accordingly, the group was shot at by several people from a vehicle.

According to the information, the background to the crime may have been clashes between rival criminal gangs. Seven other people were injured. The authorities did not give any further details.

Hernández made his international debut in a friendly against Guatemala last March. A few days later he was part of the Panamanian selection against Argentina in the world champions’ first friendly after the triumph in Qatar. In the game against Panama, superstar Lionel Messi scored his 800th competitive goal.

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Panama’s Football Association and the league regretted Hernández’s death. “At this difficult time, we express our sincere condolences to the family and friends and assure them of our support,” wrote the league on platform Xformerly Twitter.

Panama’s second largest city, Colón, which lies on the Panama Canal, has long been considered more dangerous. The Foreign Office writes that excursions in the city and in the port area on your own should be avoided.