(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) It was revealed that the man who shot dead two climate change activists who were blocking a road in Panama on Tuesday is a retired American lawyer.
Kenneth Darlington, 77, got stuck in traffic that was caused by the activists who had set up a roadblock on the highway that was about 55 miles west of Panama City, the country’s capital, according to the Daily Mail.
At some point, Darlington became fed up with the activists, which resulted in him getting out of his car and reportedly telling other drivers who were stuck in traffic “This ends today.”
He then approached a group of activists, mostly made up of leftist teachers, to argue with them about the blockage of the road.
Darlington then pulled out his gun and the leftists started asking questions like “Why don’t you shoot?” and “Are you going to kill someone?” He responded with “Do you want to be the first?” and then opened fire, which resulted in two victims.
Abdiel Díaz, one of the victims, died at the scene, while the the other man, Iván Rodríguez, 62, was taken to the Juan Vega Méndez clinic in the nearby town of San Carlos, but was dead on arrival at the hospital.
After clearing away more of the roadblock while still holding his gun, Darlington returned to his car.
One of the people who was sitting in traffic asked him if he was aware of what happened and Darlington admitted that he “killed one and shot another.”
Darlington then got into his car and told his girlfriend that they are leaving, to which she said that they are not going to leave. She then reportedly called National Police Agents, who later stopped the car and seized the firearm. After that, Darlington was handcuffed and taken away by police.
On Wednesday afternoon, Darlington appeared before a judge in the town of La Espiga. He was being charged with murder and illegal possession of a gun, according to Eliécer Plicett, a lawyer for the two victims. However, it is possible that he could be able to avoid jail time because of his age and instead be sentenced to house arrest.
