The 15-year-old shooter of Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe, who was attacked in June and died in August, has been sentenced to seven years in juvenile detention.
The right-wing politician was shot in the head during a campaign event in Bogota by the teenager, who “must remain in a specialised care centre for seven years, deprived of liberty”, prosecutors said in a statement on Wednesday.
The teen was charged with attempted murder and illegal possession of weapons – not homicide – because Colombian law does not permit modifying charges after they have been accepted by a minor defendant.
Uribe, a 39-year-old opposition legislator, underwent multiple surgeries during two months in an intensive care unit in Bogota, and died of a cerebral haemorrhage on August 11.
The attack echoed the worst years of political violence in Colombia, where five presidential candidates were shot in the second half of the 20th century.
Videos of the June 7 attack show Uribe speaking at a rally in a working-class neighbourhood of Bogota before gunshots were heard. The bloodied candidate collapsed amid the screams of hundreds of supporters.
Five others arrested
The minor shot Uribe three times, including twice in the head, before the candidate’s bodyguards were able to wound and detain the shooter.
Five others – all adults – have been arrested and charged with aggravated homicide in connection to the attack. Authorities have not determined who ordered the attack or why.
