Panamanian police arrested American lawyer and professor Kenneth Darlington, 77, Tuesday after he allegedly shot and killed two climate activists blocking a highway.
Darlington, who holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and Panama, was recorded approaching a blockade in the middle of the Pan-American Highway in the Chame sector. In the footage, the professor can be seen at first waving his finger around at activists, before pulling out a handgun from his pocket. (RELATED: Kids Smash Paintings To Show Off Their Total Ignorance About What’s Actually Killing The Planet)
Darlington, who seemed visibly agitated, began to move protesters’ flags and other belongings on the barricade line, eventually shooting two activists when they refused to move.
🚨JUST IN: MAN ARRESTED AFTER FATALLY SHOOTING 2 CLIMATE ACTIVISTS IN PANAMA
An elderly American, Kenneth Darlington, 77, was arrested in Panama after he was caught on camera walking up to environmental protesters blocking a Panamanian highway and fatally shooting two of them.… pic.twitter.com/noHvvcuIRV
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) November 9, 2023
The first victim immediately can be seen falling to the ground, with the second holding onto their shoulder. One of the victims, Abdiel Diaz, died instantly on scene while the second, Ivan Rodriguez, was announced dead on arrival when taken to the hospital, according to DailyMail.
The Pan-American Highway has been a center for activists within the last three weeks, blocking the roadway over a large mining contract allowing Canada-based First Quantum Minerals to operate within the region’s largest copper mine pit for roughly 20 more years. The protesting has caused up to $80 million in daily losses for businesses as well as shutting schools down for more than a week nationwide, according to the New York Post. (RELATED: REPORT: Gunman Shoots Massachusetts Basketball Star Dead Before His First College Game At Salem State)
Panama President Laurentino Cortizo posted on Twitter expressing his condolences to the activists’ families and stating that such crime “has no place” in Panama.
Expreso mis condolencias a las familias de los dos ciudadanos que perdieron la vida en un incidente registrado este martes en un sector de Panamá Oeste. Se trata de un hecho que no tiene cabida en una sociedad llamada a ser solidaria como la nuestra.
— Nito Cortizo (@NitoCortizo) November 8, 2023
Darlington notably had a reported history with the police and allegedly was previously convicted for illegal possession of a firearm, according to DailyMail.
