On Wednesday, November 8, 2023, TWO environmental protestors were brutally killed while obstructing a highway in Panama.
The man with the pistol, Kenneth Darlington, has been identified as the one who mercilessly fired shots at the protesters in a startling incident that was caught on camera.
Who is Kenneth Darlington?
The gunman, Kenneth Darlington, opened fire in broad daylight on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, killing two anti-mining demonstrators on a highway in Panama.
After the terrifying event, the 77-year-old, who is dual citizen of the US and Panama, was placed under arrest.
NewsRoom Panama claims that Darlington has eighteen years of criminal background.
He was taken into custody in 2005 following a search of a residence in Panama City’s Paitilla neighborhood on suspicion of having multiple assault weapons.
Despite the discovery of two M-1 rifles and an AK-47 on the premises, Darlington was granted bail on the grounds that the guns were a component of his military collection.
Darlington was previously connected to banker Marc Harris, who was found guilty of money laundering in the US, according to NewsRoom Panama.
What does Kenneth Darlington do for a living?
Despite the discovery of two M-1 rifles and an AK-47 on the premises, Darlington was granted bail on the grounds that the guns were a component of his military collection.
Darlington was previously connected to banker Marc Harris, who was found guilty of money laundering in the US, according to NewsRoom Panama.
What happened in the Panama shooting?
The Pan-American Highway, which connects Panama to the rest of Central America, was blocked by anti-mining demonstrators at Chame, 51 miles from Panama City, who were thought to be teachers.
Before the demonstrators crowded the road and forced Darlington to stop, he had been traveling down it.
He exited his car, approached the demonstrators, and was wearing spectacles and a grey open shirt.
He then fired at least two bullets at close range in front of shocked witnesses after failing to negotiate an arrangement and attempting to move their blockades.
The anti-mining protesters, believed to be teachers, blocked the Pan-American Highway near Chame, 51 miles from Panama City. The highway connects Panama to the rest of Central America.
Darlington had been driving down the road before the protestors gathered and pushed him to stop.
He got out of his car, walked up to the protesters, and had on an open grey shirt and spectacles.
After failing to come to an agreement and trying to shift their blockades, he then fired at least two shots at close range in front of astonished onlookers.
Ivan Mendoza and teacher and union activist Abdiel Diaz were later identified as the victims.
They were allegedly protesting a contentious mining agreement that gave First Quantum Minerals, based in Canada, permission to run Panama’s biggest pit copper mine for a number of years.
