On the eve of Holy Week, while carrying out one of the first processions of the year, the inhabitants of the Río de Oro municipality, in the south of the department of Cesar, were terribly scared when they heard a shot in the middle of their prayers.
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The parishioners, who at that time were praying the ‘Hail Mary’, in a matter of seconds started a stampede in which more than one person ended up on the ground and in the midst of panic and the screams of those who, right off the bat, believed that It could be a terrorist attack.
However, after the shot there was neither a hitman nor a criminal gang, but rather one of the policemen who accompanied the religious event, who, after becoming entangled, ended up unloading his rifle by accident.
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Children and the elderly participated in the procession, who, although they fell, were not seriously injured. The panic ended once men from the Army and the Police, who were at the scene, attended to the situation and reassured the community.
Children and the elderly participated in the religious event
A heavy shooting took place just a few days before in the same Río de Oro (Cesar) after ten men carried out an armed robbery in one of the banks in this community. The panic of the moment is revealed by the videos recorded by some citizens who were caught in the middle of the crossfire.
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According to the police report, at least ten subjects entered the Banco Agrario headquarters, motivated to complete a million-dollar theft.
However, the authorities were alerted and managed to get to the place before the criminals fled. And although they received them on a motorcycle and with long-range weapons, the confrontation did not leave any injuries or fatalities.
However, the burst of shots generated panic among the inhabitants; among them, street vendors who had to leave their stalls to take shelter in nearby locations, as well as a small group of people who were moving around the area.
Unfortunately, the efforts of the officers were of little use; since, although they did not manage to empty the bank, they attacked the Río de Oro Police station, according to testimonies from people who witnessed the event.
In the videos that some citizens managed to capture from their homes and businesses, the face of a couple of thieves can be seen; however, most were covered. The authorities announced that the respective investigations are already underway to clarify what happened, as well as to identify the criminals, locate them and capture them.
Although the thieves did not manage to take the amount they planned to steal, the police commander Cesar, Colonel Luis León, told the newspaper El Heraldo that they took all the money that was within their reach.
Only five people entered the bank, who unsuccessfully tried to circumvent the vault, but when they failed, they took the money that was in the box:
“Five armed subjects entered the bank and tried to steal the vault with a large sum and fortunately they did not succeed. There they seized the money that was in the box office and fled”, according to the colonel.
One of the hypotheses suggests that the hooded men could belong to an armed organization, but this information still needs to be confirmed.
“There were no people captured, the idea is to do a job well done. There are some material elements of evidence and the guys were chased to the rural area, there have been no captures so far and much less injuries. The Army is already supporting the sector, ”he added, in conversations with the aforementioned media.
At least 10 men robbed a bank in Cesar with a bullet: the confrontation with the Police was recorded on video.