Peru’s former president, 69-year-old Alan Garcia, has died after he shot himself in the head as soon as police arrived and stormed through his door to arrest him.
Garcia was supposed to be questioned by police for alleged money laundering. However, he was rushed to Casimiro Ulloa hospital after shooting himself.
As police arrived at his house to detain him, the former president said he needed to talk to his lawyer and shut himself in his bedroom. That’s when a firearm blast rang out.
Garcia fought for his life for a few hours. He had three cardiac arrests and was resuscitated three times before doctors pronounced him dead.
X-ray images show Garcia’s gunshot wound left by the bullet that passed through his skull. The current president confirmed his death.
The general secretary of Garcia’s American Popular Revolutionary Alliance party, Omar Quesada, said: “Alan Garcia has died, long live Apra.”
Speaking to media about the moments before Garcia shot himself, interior Minister Carlos Moran said that he had told police he needed to call his lawyer after they stormed through his front door to detain him.
“He entered his room and closed the door behind him,” Mr. Moran said.
“Within a few minutes, a shot from a firearm was heard, and police forcibly entered the room and found Mr. Garcia sitting with a wound in his head.”
Garcia served two terms Peru’s president, the first from 1985 to 1990 and the second from 2006 to 2011. He was under investigation after allegedly receiving bribes from Brazilian construction titan Odebrecht.
Odebrecht admitted that it paid $29 million to Peruvian officials but Garcia slammed the inquiry and maintained his innocence.
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