A soldier shot and killed two officers at a Venezuelan military base on Saturday, setting off a gunfight that wounded six other soldiers, authorities said.
The alleged gunman fled Caracas’ Fort Tiuna in a car that was later found abandoned in a slum, and troops and police were searching for him.
The soldier opened fire after arguing with a superior, Captain Miguel Angel Rosales, shooting the 33-year-old officer in the head with a Russian-made AK-103 assault rifle, according to the attorney general’s office.
PHOTO: AFP
Minutes later, the suspect, identified as Jeffersson Jose Trujillo Vasquez, fatally shot Lieutenant Alfredo Ruiz, 25, at an arms depot, the office said in a statement that was carried by the state-run Venezuelan News Agency.
The statement said an exchange of gunfire followed in which six soldiers were wounded — three women and three men ranging in rank from sergeant to first lieutenant.
There was no immediate public reaction by military officials and government officials could not be reached for comment.
Fort Tiuna is Venezuela’s largest military base and also the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense.
It is the same installation where a Hong Kong athlete was wounded by an apparent stray bullet on Aug. 13 during the women’s baseball World Cup. The team pulled out of the tournament afterward and organizers moved the remaining games away from the base.
It was unclear whether the bullet was fired from inside Fort Tiuna or elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is taking his Sunday TV and radio program off the air until October during campaigning for legislative elections.
The Ministry of Information said Alo Presidente would not appear this weekend to make room for televised coverage of a voting drill by electoral officials and the final of the women’s baseball World Cup.
With campaigning for the Sept. 26 elections officially launching next week, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday that the program would be suspended until after the vote out of respect for electoral rules.
In addition to Alo Presidente, Chavez usually makes marathon speeches several times a week.
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