Colombian senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe remains in critical condition after being shot twice in the head during a rally.
The 39-year-old right-wing politician was targeted Saturday evening in Bogotá by an alleged 15-year-old gunman, who also wounded Uribe in the leg.
Doctors at Santa Fe Clinic confirmed Uribe underwent emergency surgery but warned his condition remains “grave” with his prognosis uncertain.
The attack sent shockwaves through a nation still healing from decades of political bloodshed and narco violence once thought to be behind it.
Candlelight vigils erupted across major cities Sunday as citizens gathered to pray and demand justice for what many called an attack on democracy.
“We are devastated—Colombia bleeds,” said Carolina Gómez, a Bogotá resident who joined hundreds outside the hospital in solidarity.
Uribe’s wife, María Claudia Tarazona, expressed gratitude for the nationwide support and asked Colombians to pray for his survival.
Authorities say the young attacker was captured and is being treated for injuries; a Glock-style firearm was recovered at the scene.
Two bystanders were also injured, though their wounds are reportedly non-life-threatening, police director Carlos Fernando Triana confirmed.
The motive remains unclear, but investigators suspect the attack may be politically motivated due to Uribe’s outspoken stance against guerrilla groups and drug cartels.
President Gustavo Petro condemned the shooting as an assault on democracy and vowed to deploy every resource to find those responsible.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also condemned the act, but accused Petro’s “violent leftist rhetoric” of fueling political hostility.
Uribe’s family history is deeply entwined with Colombia’s turbulent past—his mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was killed during a Pablo Escobar kidnapping.
Now, as he fights for his life, the nation confronts a painful reminder of the violence it hoped it had left behind.