Four Siblings Gunned Down in Southern Colombia

BOGOTA – Four siblings ranging in age from 7 to 17 were fatally shot inside their family’s home in a rural area near Florencia, capital of the southern Colombian province of Caqueta, authorities said.

Unidentified men entered the residence Wednesday night and opened fire, killing four of the Vanegas Grimaldo siblings.

The fifth sibling was wounded, but managed to get away.

The public ombudsman’s office identified the dead as Samuel, 17; Juliana, 14; Xiomara, 11; and Deiner, 7.

The surviving Vanegas Grimaldo sibling and a neighbor alerted authorities about the attack, the ombudsman’s office said. Investigators suspect the quadruple-murder may be linked to a dispute between the children’s father and squatters who invaded some lands he owns.

Caqueta Gov. Hugo Rincon expressed sorrow about the killings and vowed that authorities “will find those responsible for the massacre.”

Separately, a 13-year-old boy was slain and dismembered in Tulua, a town in the southwestern province of Valle del Cauca.

“For what we know so far, the minor resided in Cali (the provincial capital) and had gone to the town to spend vacation with relatives,” the ombudsman’s office said.