An elderly man got out of his car and shot two environmentalist protestors blocking the Pan-American Highway in Panama on Tuesday.
The man, identified as a 77-year-old Panama-born U.S. citizen named Kenneth Darlington, was arrested for the killings which took place in the Chame District of the Central American country. The environmentalists were reportedly protesting a local mining operation.
In video footage of the event, Darlington is seen approaching the protestors, who were blasting music and waving flags, with a long line of cars behind him held up by the demonstration. He argues with the activists back and forth before taking out his pistol.
He then grabs a flag, tosses it aside, picks up several of their roadblock props (mostly debris like tires and bits of concrete) and tosses them away as well, while continuing to argue with them.
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The clip cuts forward to a point—unclear how long after—where Darlington is seen in a close altercation with the environmentalist protestors surrounding him. Finally, he fires one shot at a man close to him who falls over. The victim was carrying what seems to be a flagpole.
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He then fires another shot at a second protestor, who limps away from the scene.
Darlington continues to clear debris off the road left by the protestors as bystanders scream in horror.
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The last part of the clip shows Darlington being escorted by two police officers into the back of a police vehicle. Police in helmets and bullet proof vests gather around the dead body, which had orange traffic cones placed around it.
The two victims were identified as Abdiel Díaz Chávez, who died at the scene, and Iván Rodríguez Mendoza, who was pronounced dead at a hospital. Both of them were teachers.
Darling has reportedly been charged with aggravated homicide and illegal possession of firearms. He is a lawyer and a professor who holds dual citizenship in the United States and Panama, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Newsroom Panama.
This was the third week of environmental actions in protest of a mining contract which permits Canada-based First Quantum Minerals to make use of the largest pit copper mine in Panama for a minimum of 20 more years.
The activist roadblocks have cost businesses $80 million in daily losses and have led to the nationwide shutdown of schools for over a week. This isn’t even the first incident of violence against the protestors: a driver attempting to get around the roadblock hit and killed an activist last week, according to local news.
The Pan-American Highway reaches from Argentina up to Alaska and is considered the world’s longest road at 19,000 miles.
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