Colombian Candidate Miguel Uribe Shot Twice in Head by 15-Year-Old
A Colombian presidential candidate is in critical condition after being shot three times — including twice in the head — during a campaign event in Bogotá.
Miguel Uribe Turbay, 39, was delivering a speech in a public park on Saturday, June 7, when a 15-year-old boy allegedly opened fire on him at close range. Police quickly apprehended the teenager at the scene, according to local media reports.
Uribe was struck in the knee and twice in the head, emergency responders confirmed. He was rushed by helicopter to the Sante Fe Clinic, where doctors are working to save his life.
Supporters have gathered outside the hospital in a vigil, as the nation anxiously awaits updates on his condition.
His wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, pleaded for public prayers, saying: “Miguel is fighting for his life. Let us ask God to guide the hands of the doctors treating him.”
Uribe’s party, Centro Democrático, strongly condemned the assassination attempt, warning that it was not only an attack on a political leader but a dangerous assault on Colombia’s democratic values.
Disturbing video shared online shows the moment Uribe was shot mid-sentence, sparking panic as people screamed and fled the scene.
President Gustavo Petro’s government denounced the act as “an attack on democracy,” while U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio labeled the shooting “a direct threat to democratic stability.”
Uribe hails from a prominent Colombian political family. He is the grandson of former President Julio César Turbay Ayala (1978–1982) and son of the late journalist Diana Turbay, who was kidnapped and killed during a rescue operation while being held by Pablo Escobar’s Medellín cartel in 1991.
A Harvard-educated senator since 2022, Uribe launched his presidential campaign in October 2024 from the very spot where his mother was murdered.
In that announcement, he spoke of choosing forgiveness over vengeance: “I could have grown up seeking revenge, but I decided to do the right thing — forgive, but never forget.”
Colombian Candidate Miguel Uribe Shot Twice in Head by 15-Year-Old