6 killed in Colombia shooting

By Laura Gamba

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - Six people were shot and killed on Monday in a billiard room in Barranquilla, located in the north of Colombia.

Three men aboard a white van reportedly arrived at the establishment and began shooting at all the people inside. Four people were killed on the spot, and two others died in the hospital minutes later. Authorities reported that the killings were allegedly the result of clashes between criminal gangs.

"It is possibly due to theft or seizure of a quantity of cocaine from the Gulf Clan and, in order to recover it, this situation has arisen," said Police Chief Oscar Daza. Victims belonged to the criminal structure known as Los Costenos.

Monday's killings, which the Institute for Development and Peace Studies (Indepaz) calls "massacre," is the latest in a wave of violence that Colombia is facing.

The country has recorded 79 "massacres" since the start of 2022, said Indepaz, an NGO that monitors peace development in Colombia. So far more than 260 people have been killed this year.

The first week of this month saw four people being killed in a house in Bogota. A week later, four members of the same family were murdered in Landazuri, in the Colombian department of Santander. The family members were in their home when they were attacked by several people with knives who later set the house on fire. The authorities reported that the neighbors lynched four of the assailants to death.

Between Sunday and Monday, the number of people killed rose to 14.

The United Nations has urged the government of President Gustavo Petro to take measures to protect the population from "increasing levels of violence" by armed groups and criminal organizations.

Petro has called for a multilateral ceasefire with illegal armed groups, as well as an increased state presence throughout the country.