Police Officer María José R., 20, Killed in Cali, Colombia

A 20-year-old police officer has died of her severe injuries from a shootout with suspected robbers in the Colombian city of Cali. The Policía Metropolitana de Cali (Cali's metropolitan police) confirmed the death of patrol officer María José R. on Saturday, October 24, around midday.

The young woman was hit by a bullet in the head on Friday afternoon, October 23, in the Barrio Industrial in the city center. She was taken to intensive care with an uncertain prognosis. Since Friday, false reports of her death had been circulating on social media, which police denied while the officer was still alive.

Officers intervened in robbery of fellow officer

According to police, the trigger was an attempted robbery: Several armed men tried to take the private motorcycle and belongings of an off-duty officer of the Departamento de Policía Valle (the Valle del Cauca department police). Units from the city police station intervened, and a shootout ensued.

Besides the 20-year-old, two other officers were injured. One of them is recovering; the other was discharged on medical leave. One suspected robber was killed. Officers seized two firearms, four stolen cell phones and a motorcycle that was apparently used in the robbery.

According to police, the suspects are linked to three other thefts committed the same day in other parts of the city. The investigation is ongoing, police director Maj. Gen. Jesús Alejandro Barrera Peña said, according to the newspaper El Heraldo. Criminal investigators are gathering evidence to identify the others involved and bring them to court.

Police and authorities mourn

Colombia's national police published an official statement of condolence, honoring the young officer's vocation of serving the community.

The Personería de Cali, a municipal oversight and ombudsman office, strongly condemned the crime and called for a thorough investigation. "We cannot allow crime to continue extinguishing lives," the agency said. The Cali city council honored the officer as a woman who had dedicated her life to protecting the safety and peace of residents.

On Saturday evening, a candlelight vigil was held at the headquarters of the Policía Metropolitana de Santiago de Cali.

Moved to Cali to serve as a police officer

The 20-year-old was from Montería, the capital of the department of Córdoba on Colombia's Caribbean coast, and had moved to Cali for her job. According to the newspaper Publimetro, she had been with the national police for about a year. Colleagues described her as determined, cheerful and resolute, shaped by her Caribbean spirit. She reportedly responded immediately to the emergency call from a neighborhood considered difficult.

According to police, the officer is to be buried in her hometown. The governor of Córdoba, Erasmo Zuleta Bechara, expressed his condolences to the family and the police. "It fills us with sorrow that such a young life is extinguished by crime," he wrote.