Gunmen open fire on students at a rural University of Panama campus, killing one person and injuring another.

PANAMA CITY, Panama — Two unidentified gunmen opened fire on a group of students on a rural University of Panama campus Friday, killing one and wounding another before fleeing, according to police and authorities. school officials.

The university's rector, Eduardo Flores Castro, said via the social platform , when the shooting took place.

Later, in a statement, he identified the killed student as Álvaro Leones, 27.

“Leones was an exceptional member of our university community, whose academic commitment and spirit of solidarity leave an indelible mark on the entire university community,” Flores said. He offered his condolences to his family and friends.

The director of the regional campus where the shooting took place, Pedro Samaniego, did not witness the shooting, but was on campus.

Samaniego said a man approached a group of six freshmen around 11 a.m. and opened fire without saying a word.

“We don't have any details about (the shooter), only that he came in and shot the student and the kids ran away and the injured (student) was shot right in the butt,” he said. “Then the person jumped the fence and ran away.”

The injured student was Anel Terreros, the university said.

But later, Deputy Police Commissioner Héctor Delgado, who is the head of the Veraguas zone, said in a video released by the national police that there had been two shooters who arrived in a car before opening fire.

Prosecutor Héctor Navarro said in a recorded statement that no suspects had yet been identified.

The injured student was hospitalized.

A law enforcement official who requested anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation said no one was in custody.

The regional prosecutor's office said via X that it was investigating a homicide on campus.