{"id":14186,"date":"2026-06-24T09:10:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T14:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/?p=14186"},"modified":"2026-06-24T08:13:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T13:13:35","slug":"panama-youth-violence-claims-10-year-old-girl-near-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/crime-safety\/panama-youth-violence-claims-10-year-old-girl-near-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Panama Youth Violence Claims 10 Year Old Girl Near School"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Behind every statistic lies a shattered story. Children and teenagers with dreams, goals and entire lives ahead of them have lost their lives in violent incidents across Panama. These tragedies have shocked the nation and dominated headlines over the past several months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the most recent cases occurred in the La Locer\u00eda area of <a href=\"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/living\/panama-city-loses-half-its-water-to-leaks-daily\/\" rel=\"internal\">Panama City<\/a>. A 10-year-old girl and her stepfather were shot dead while walking to Escuela Biling\u00fce El Jap\u00f3n. Parents at the school say police patrols have increased around the campus since the crime. A large sign now stands at the main entrance. The educational community placed it there to demand an end to the violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d3940.7683251327635!2d-79.5398586243089!3d8.993453389543069!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x8faca8f529a2a3b7%3A0xc98f461b0157d02b!2sEscuela%20El%20Jap%C3%B3n!5e0!3m2!1sen!2spa!4v1782306736281!5m2!1sen!2spa\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" style=\"border:0;\" allowfullscreen=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Sociologist Explains the Pattern<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sociologist Jos\u00e9 Lazo sees a disturbing trend in these cases. Some children end up paying the price for conflicts between adults, he explained. Others get trapped in environments marked by criminality and insecurity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;There is a general insecurity that is affecting those who do not participate in criminal dynamics.&#8221; [Translated from Spanish]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The violence has hit other communities just as hard. Three months ago, workers found the bodies of two teenagers aged 14 and 16 on a road connecting the Cunanega and Chivo Chivo sectors. The area was remote and poorly lit. The teens had been abandoned there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d125987.46531253803!2d-80.01986882692027!3d9.323672028439345!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x8fab6d74d93fcb77%3A0x90daf5f3ea39d9e4!2zQ29sw7NuLCBDb2zDs24gUHJvdmluY2U!5e0!3m2!1sen!2spa!4v1782306777475!5m2!1sen!2spa\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" style=\"border:0;\" allowfullscreen=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Col\u00f3n Province Reports Multiple Teen Homicides<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The province of Col\u00f3n has seen some of the most shocking cases. <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Crime_in_Panama\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Panama youth<\/strong> violence<\/a> has spiked in this port city. Yacet Bustamante, a 14-year-old basketball prodigy, was shot dead on May 9 in the San Judas sector. He was considered a rising star in Panamanian sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Juan Alberto Vargas also lost his life. He was the son of Panamanian singer Junior Rang. The incident happened in the Crist\u00f3bal township. Another 15-year-old boy was shot while returning from school and visiting friends. He died at the scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One case caused particular horror. Cristian Ortega&#8217;s remains were found in a wooded area of Cativ\u00e1. His family had searched for him for more than a month. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oas.org\/en\/topics\/crime_and_violence_prevention.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Colon Panama crime<\/a> statistics show six minors were killed in the province during May alone. Residents and specialists say the situation is critical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/youth-jobless-1200x800-1-1024x683.webp\" alt=\"youth jobless\" class=\"wp-image-13010\" srcset=\"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/youth-jobless-1200x800-1-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/youth-jobless-1200x800-1-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/youth-jobless-1200x800-1-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/youth-jobless-1200x800-1-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/youth-jobless-1200x800-1-450x300.webp 450w, https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/youth-jobless-1200x800-1.webp 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">youth jobless<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Social Factors Increase Risks for Vulnerable Youth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Experts point to several factors driving this crisis. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cepal.org\/en\/topics\/education\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">School dropout Latin America<\/a> rates remain high in vulnerable communities. Access to drugs and weapons is widespread. Criminal groups operate openly in many neighborhoods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;All of these social factors place our adolescents at risk,&#8221; one specialist warned. The concern grows when criminal structures recruit minors, sometimes even inside school grounds. The Public Ministry reports that several cases remain under investigation. Arrests have been limited so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among the open files is the murder of the 10-year-old girl in La Locer\u00eda. Police have not yet identified a motive or suspects. The investigation continues without major breakthroughs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Parents and community leaders are calling for urgent action. They want more police presence in residential areas. They demand better lighting in public spaces. And they ask for social programs that keep children in school and away from criminal influences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The country&#8217;s youth deserve better, they say. Each life lost represents a future that will never happen. A dream that will never be realized. A family that will never be whole again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Behind every statistic lies a shattered story. Children and teenagers with dreams, goals and entire lives ahead of them have lost their lives in violent incidents across Panama. These tragedies have shocked the nation and dominated headlines over the past several months. One of the most recent cases occurred in the La Locer\u00eda area of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12255,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[4969,4972,4971,4968,4970],"class_list":["post-14186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-crime-safety","tag-child-homicides","tag-child-homicides-panama","tag-panama-youth-violence","tag-panama-youth-violence-claims","tag-teen-deaths"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14186"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14187,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14186\/revisions\/14187"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}