Crime Motorist shoots dead two environmental protesters blocking a road - Driver caught in traffic gets out of his car and guns down demonstrators when they refuse to move in Panama

• Shocking footage shows the man gunning down two environmental protesters in Chame, Panama
• The pair were killed and one person was arrested in connection with the incident, officials said
• ***WARNING: CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES***

By CHRIS JEWERS
PUBLISHED: 09:46 EST, 8 November 2023 | UPDATED: 12:08 EST, 8 November 2023

This is the shocking moment a motorist shot dead two environmental demonstrators at near point blank range after becoming enraged over their road blockade in Panama.

Harrowing images captured the shooter, a frustrated elderly man, climbing out of his car to argue with the eco-protesters who had stopped traffic on the Pan-American Highway in the town of Chame.

He initially attempted to reason with the protesters, but moments later pulled a handgun from his pocket and began gesturing wildly as his frustration grew. Despite the imminent danger, the protesters stubbornly refused to curtail their demonstration and continued to argue back and forth with the disgruntled motorist, who became visibly more enraged with each passing moment.

For a time it looked as though the gunman was prepared to back down, but when one protester holding a flag stepped towards him, he snapped the pistol back up and fired at his target from mere feet away.

Terrified onlookers and other protesters helped move the victim to the side of the road and laid him down on the ground as the gunman calmly began dismantling a small barricade made of stones and tyres erected by the demonstrators.

Still undeterred, another protester wearing a black t-shirt and jeans tried to confront the gunman and was also shot. Footage shows how he recoiled from the shot, holding his upper chest in pain and with an expression of disbelief on his face.

He is shown hobbling away to the side of the road as other protesters run for cover, before slumping to the ground.

Horrified friends of the victims rushed to their aid, with bystanders seen applying pressure to the wounds in an attempt to stem the blood loss - but neither victim survived their injuries.

Police descended on the scene and promptly arrested the shooter, dragging him away in cuffs and bundling him into the back of a squad car.


This is the shocking moment an irate motorist shot dead an environmental protester in Panama. He went on to shoot another man in the incident before being detained

Motorist shoots dead two environmental protestors blocking the road

Police also published a photo of the detainee - an older man with greying hair and glasses - seated with one hand cuffed to a pipe, either in a police station or van. He was earlier seen walking down the road towards the protesters

The man was seen pulling a gun from his pocket and waving it in front of the protesters in the middle of the road

The man is seen gesturing with the handgun in his right hand, as he argues with the protesters blocking the road

One man, seen in a black t-shirt holding a flag, got into a heated argument with the man (lfet). The video cuts to the man holding the flag falling to the ground

This is the shocking moment one of two environmental protesters blocking a road in Panama was shot dead by an irate driver

The first man to be shot is seen being treated on the ground

A second man also confronted the gunmen. This photo was taken moments before he was also shot by the angry motorist in Chame, Panama

The tragic incident came amid the latest round of protests in a three-week long demonstration against a controversial government mining contract in the country, officials said.

Several avenues in the capital were blocked Tuesday by small groups of protesters, while the Pan-American Highway was obstructed in several spots, hindering transport of food, fuel and medicine.

The deaths followed local reports that a demonstrator was run over and killed on November 1 by a foreigner attempting to cross a roadblock during a protest in the west of the country.

The contract, given final approval October 20, allows the local subsidiary of Canadian mining company First Quantum Minerals to continue operating an open-pit copper mine in a richly biodiverse jungle west of the capital.

The contract is for the next 20 years - with the possibility of extending for a further 20 years if the mine remains productive.

Since protests began, the government nearly passed legislation that would have revoked the contract, but it backtracked in a late-evening debate at the National Assembly on November 2.


The man is seen standing in the middle of the road after being seen to have shot two people in the middle of the protest

A man is seen holding a gun after walking up to a teachers' blockade on the Pan-American Highway in Chame

The man, still holding the handgun, is seen attempting to clear the blockade in the road

A man is arrested after shooting two protesters with a gun in the middle of a teachers' blockade on the Pan-American Highway in Chame, Panama

The angry motorist is seen being put into the back of a police van after the shooting incident on Tuesday

People react after witnessing a man shoot two protesters with a gun in the middle of a teachers' blockade on the Pan-American Highway

A woman participates in a vigil for two two men killed in the shooting incident during Tuesday's protest

In an effort to calm tempers, congress last week passed a law that imposes a moratorium on new metal mining contracts and left it up to the Supreme Court to decide on whether to allow the contract with First Quantum Minerals.

Environmentalists have welcomed this decision by lawmakers, saying indeed it is the court that should rule on whether the contract violates the constitution.

But a powerful construction union called Suntracs, teachers unions and other organizations want the contract to be annulled through a law passed by Congress.

As a result, they are continuing their protests.

Source (Archive)

 

[TowinKarz]

For the record, for the people moralizing about ambulances, there's no evidence nor reason to believe any serious health crises were exacerbated by this particular protest. Other protests in other countries? Possibly. But in this particular case, anyone invoking that is being a disingenuous shithead.

"no harm no foul" does not apply in this situation.

Sure, nothing DID happen, but they couldn't know ahead of time that would be the case, so they're still guilty of putting everyone at risk.

It's not disingenuous to point that out.

 

[Marvin]

"no harm no foul" does not apply in this situation.

Sure, nothing DID happen, but they couldn't know ahead of time that would be the case, so they're still guilty of putting everyone at risk.

It's not disingenuous to point that out.

As I understand it, the location of the protest isn't in a place where they could interfere with a legitimate emergency facility.

I suppose they could block traffic and it'd back up enough to snake into places where it'd fuck up emergency services. But if that's the standard you're going by, then no protests that block any streets can ever be OK.

Even the most remote, isolated culdesac could eventually back up onto a main road and cause problems. That's a little bit of an exaggeration, but I think it makes my point.

In the US, and I assume in most countries with a functioning local bureaucracy, it's illegal to block any roads for a protest without a permit ahead of time. That's how it should be. It's not a violation of one's rights, and that alone should be enough for a complaint against them.

The flip side is that if you really believe in your cause, staging an illegal protest and getting arrested for it is a great badge of honor, I think.

I just don't like people bringing up hypothetical injured ambulance victims without any evidence they even exist.

And victims aren't even necessary to make the argument that these eco hippies should be dragged off in cuffs.

 

[TowinKarz]

. But if that's the standard you're going by, then no protests that block any streets can ever be OK.

That is my exact feeling on the matter.

No public street may be used for unannounced protesting that denies it's use to the public.

 

[AnOminous]

For the record, for the people moralizing about ambulances, there's no evidence nor reason to believe any serious health crises were exacerbated by this particular protest. Other protests in other countries? Possibly. But in this particular case, anyone invoking that is being a disingenuous shithead.

"Because this time when I shot randomly into a crowd, nobody got hurt, it's totally okay to do that!"

As I understand it, the location of the protest isn't in a place where they could interfere with a legitimate emergency facility.

It was a literal fucking highway. Do you know why they call emergency vehicles that? Do you know what they're responding to when they drive somewhere? Something called an emergency.

 

[Human Waiter]

He initially attempted to reason with the protesters, but moments later pulled a handgun from his pocket and began gesturing wildly as his frustration grew. Despite the imminent danger, the protesters stubbornly refused to curtail their demonstration and continued to argue back and forth with the disgruntled motorist, who became visibly more enraged with each passing moment.

Did these retards not understand what a gun is? When the old guy pulls a pistol you should just let through, he's got a lot less to lose.

 

[Marvin]

"Because this time when I shot randomly into a crowd, nobody got hurt, it's totally okay to do that!"

More like "there was no chance for someone to get hurt".

 

[AnOminous]

More like "there was no chance for someone to get hurt".

Absolute bullshit. You don't stop highway traffic without creating extreme risks.

 

[Marvin]

Absolute bullshit. You don't stop highway traffic without creating extreme risks.

Factually untrue. And someone familiar with midatlantic highways would know better.

 

[AnOminous]

Factually untrue. And someone familiar with midatlantic highways would know better.

I'm familiar with them. I've narrowly avoided pileups with dozens of cars about three times, and watched some pretty spectacular and fatal wrecks involving other people. And that was completely out of the blue under normal conditions. If you're saying suddenly stopping high speed traffic and creating a roadblock lasting miles long as a result for hours doesn't vastly amplify the already existing hazards that's deranged.

On 78 alone I've seen at least a half-dozen major wrecks. The entirety of 95 is a congested shithole and that's when it's not under construction for years. I suppose you could probably block it without it seeming out of the ordinary though.

Acting like shutting down traffic traveling at high speeds, though, is somehow completely harmless is derange-o.

 

[Ughubughughughughughghlug]

For the record, for the people moralizing about ambulances, there's no evidence nor reason to believe any serious health crises were exacerbated by this particular protest. Other protests in other countries? Possibly. But in this particular case, anyone invoking that is being a disingenuous shithead.

If it makes you feel better, I will be one 100% honest person: those environmental protesters got what was coming to them and the world is better off that they are dead. All they did was block traffic, but blocking traffic is something I (and many other people) take seriously, and they were doing it for a truly worthless cause, so bye bye.



Now, here's an idea for you all: we have stand your ground laws in some places, where if you have the right to be somewhere, you have NO obligation to move from it, even using lethal force to defend yourself if need be. It's basically the most extreme interpretation of self-defense you can have. Now apply that to a roadway where people are obeying normal traffic laws and there is a reasonable expectation that traffic can and will flow. How do you interpret, then, the situation of people standing in the way of traffic with a car barreling down on them?

I'm sure no normal judge would rule in favor of the car, but this is something I want to see play out. A precedent that if you are willfully blocking the road, blocking it with malicious intent, unlawfully obstruct traffic, then that car has the right to "stand its ground" on the road over your fucking head.

Edit: Even if it's spurious and gets appealed, couldn't a local judge/district attorney, in places that would have a friendly one, do something like charge protesters with kidnapping for every single person in the jam? One of the most vile aspects of this type of nonviolent terrorism is that the nature of a traffic jam leaves a person locked into it, you can't back out, you can't just drive off the road, you technically can abandon your vehicle but we all know you can't really. So you are effectively held hostage.

 

[Buttigieg2020]

But she replied, “We’re not leaving” — and instead called National Police agents, who stopped the car and seized Darlington’s gun, TVN reported.


So he shoots two guys and he's just like "Let's roll babe". This fucking guy!

Unfortunately his taste in women was not as good as his taste in firearms.

 

[AnOminous]

Unfortunately his taste in women was not as good as his taste in firearms.

What exactly did the boomer shoot them with? I missed that in all the hullaballoo.

 

[Buttigieg2020]

What exactly did the boomer shoot them with? I missed that in all the hullaballoo.

I believe it was a Ruger LCP380 or EC9. I can’t tell if it’s .380 or 9mm.

Based on the picture of the casing flying past his face, it was probably a .380.

 

[Tasty Tatty]

Factually untrue. And someone familiar with midatlantic highways would know better.

Highways are also how supplies go from one city to the other.

My country is unfortunately too centralist and this city doesn't produce anything. Blocking traffic is the same as blocking the entry of food.

And before anyone said "but that didn't happen"... that's the point. They didn't know it would or wouldn't happen.

 

[Apteryx Owenii]

As I understand it, the location of the protest isn't in a place where they could interfere with a legitimate emergency facility.

I suppose they could block traffic and it'd back up enough to snake into places where it'd fuck up emergency services. But if that's the standard you're going by, then no protests that block any streets can ever be OK.

This is obtuse. It's not only a question of whether a "legitimate emergency facility" (??) will be interfered with; it's preventing people from traveling to that facility. When someone has a heart attack, it doesn't matter that you didn't block the door to the emergency room if they can't get there from where they are because the ambulance gets stuck. And where they are may very well be is in a massive traffic jam or anywhere between there and a hospital. That's why you shouldn't be blocking highways unless you are intellectually honest enough to acknowledge that your attempt to fuck up travel in an area may get someone killed (as has verifiably happened multiple times). And your cause had better be worth that chance.

It just so happens that, this time, the improbable death was on the side of the ones who decided to cause the situation. I wonder if they calculated that possibility?

 

[troonkin]

I like how you casually admit that the protests wont do a goddamn thing but still keep arguing for the validity of the protests.

Just because I don't agree with them or find them effective doesn't mean they don't have a right to do them.

He pulled the gun waved it in their faces, yelled at them to move they apparently decided Grampa wasn't going to shoot

It took him roughly 10 seconds to pull the gun on them. I don´t go by wild west rules but it seems pretty unreasonable. At any point in the video he seems to be confronted or threatened. This is nigger behavior.

You aren't the arbiter of where people get to go for treatment. If that's the only clinic in the area that's where people are going to go till an EMS comes for them from somewhere else, the clinics will still be able to attempt to stabalize the patient.

No I am not but I'm not pulling shit out of my ass unlike you.

https://cmcostapacifico.com/

They aren´t a clinic just a place to get you blood checked and do other exams.

https://es.cybo.com/PA-biz/cl%C3%ADnica-pedi%C3%A1trica-dra-marta-ceballos

Pediatrician

https://www.minsa.gob.pa/noticia/instalaciones-del-centro-de-salud-del-distrito-de-chame-ofrece-una-favorable-cartera-de

"ofrece los programas de atención en salud propia de la atención primaria, significa que tiene dentro de los programas: atención del programa infantil, programa de salud sexual y reproductiva, (atención embarazadas, planificación familiar, tomas de citologías), atención general de ginecología cuenta con un ginecólogo pero parte de los servicio ofertasdos es hacer controles ginecológicos con las referencias pertinentes se requieren en algún momento, programa de adolescentes incluyendo los servicios de salud amigables, programa de salud de adulto y adulto mayor, programa de atención paliativa y humanización, atención de tuberculosis, VIH, programa de epidemiología, programa de salud escolar, toma de hisopados todos los días, vacunación."
The only emergency they might help you with is a itchy vagina. These sort of facilities are used for "family health" and just normal check-ups.

So, even if there were ambulances (there were none), there are no health services capable of receiving or treating any real emergency.
And this all is even more retarded because the cops were able to reach them and apprehend the shooter so emergency services can clearly cross the road.

 

[TowinKarz]

This is obtuse. It's not only a question of whether a "legitimate emergency facility" (??) will be interfered with; it's preventing people from traveling to that facility.

This

Several years back I mangled my hand in some power equipment and had to drive to the ER to get it stitched back together. I live on a dinkly little Podunk road. Said road doesn't go directly to the hospital, I need to get on a freeway and then get off it to access the hospital.

If protestors are blocking that road? The secondary roads I'd have to use to stitch together (ha ha!) a viable detour would add anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes to make it.

And I was in my own private car, not an ambulance.

Nobody's' getting out of my way on that trip.

This idea that as long as there's no white van with a siren wailing means no ones in trouble or at-risk for a health emergency is ludicrous.

They can happen any time and anywhere people live.

You can't say, just as they can't say, that someone living in one of those houses in the background isn't going to accidentally cut off a finger with a can opener and need to get to a surgeon NOW with no delay.

But that's okay, I guess they can just accept that gangrene with pride that it was received in service of letting people throw a temper tantrum for a "good" cause.



What about things that are going to cause a huge economic loss? Rushing home because your animals were reported as getting out of pasture and are wandering the neighborhood? Or a pipe burst in your basement and it's filling with water? Or a time-critical document needs in the mail TODAY or you get hit with a fee? How about an important civic hearing that the Judge has made clear you'll lose if you're late?

True, no one will die if these things happen, but, it's just more proof of how these allegedly empathetic protestors who care so much for the world really care for no one but themselves. If YOU have to suffer/ So be it.

 

[Jet Fuel Johnny]

If YOU have to suffer/ So be it.

That's actually the goal.

They want YOU to suffer so that the general populace puts pressure on the government to give the protestors whatever they want.

They're literally inconviencing or harassing you to weaponize you against the government for their own cause.

That's why it should be allowed to shoot them in the face and drag their bodies off the road to throw them in the ditch when they block roads.

The are using you as an unwilling force for their own means and goals, regardless of your own desires.

So, fuck 'em.

Die, motherfucker, die.

 

[not william stenchever]

I think a lot of people out there lack a proper respect for how dangerous firearms can be to their health because they've never been shot. I've never been shot but I've fired rounds that penetrated through quarter inch steel plates. I've shot dead deer with a miniscule amount of force applied by my index finger to the trigger. Shit like this makes me realize that there's an awful lot of imbeciles out there with not even a sliver of that kind of experience that impresses upon them that guns are fucking dangerous and should be treated with respect.

However, because they are retard babies, they have almost to a (wo)man cut themselves on something sharp and has ingrained in them a deeply seated life lesson that sharp things hurt. Takeaway lesson here is that when you are dealing with violent retards, show them a big fuckoff knife first. Retard babies remember that those hurt.

 

[Positron]