Young man murdered near Héroes station in Bogotá: his sister revealed his final message
Joan David Gómez, 21, was stabbed on Saturday in El Polo neighbourhood. His sister shared his last message and denied the attacker was a homeless person.
Student, 21, stabbed in El Polo neighbourhood following attempted robbery
Joan David Gómez, a 21-year-old speech and voice student, was killed with a sharp weapon on Saturday, 25 July at approximately 2:50 p.m. in El Polo neighbourhood, an area near the TransMilenio Héroes station in Bogotá. This was reported by semana.com.
Gómez had left classes at an academy located near that station and was heading home when he was approached by the attacker, apparently with the intention of robbing him. After being stabbed in the chest, he died at the scene.
A witness who saw the suspected murderer fleeing intercepted him metres away and handed him over to police, who arrested him in flagrante delicto. The arrested man was placed at the disposal of the authorities and must answer for the crime of homicide.
The final message to his parents
Hours after the crime, one of Gómez's sisters spoke on Noticias RCN and revealed that the young man had managed to send a message to his parents moments before being attacked.
"His final little message… He knew about God, the Lord, and he spoke to his parents, he spoke to my dad, to my mum, and in his message he said: 'See you soon with God's blessing. I love you'", his sister recalled on the news programme.
According to her account, Gómez sent that message just before heading to the TransMilenio stop to return home, which was when he encountered the attacker.
The suspected murderer had a criminal record
The sister also addressed rumours circulating on social media about the arrested man's identity. She denied that he was a homeless person and assured that the man had multiple prior criminal convictions.
"I want to deny that, because he was not a homeless person. That person, after investigations, had many convictions, he already had a life, let's say, criminal, and was at large; that person crosses paths with him and there was an attempted robbery. That person's action was to draw the knife and strike at the heart of my brother, which was what we treasured most, because from his heart only came joy", she declared to the news outlet.
The authorities have not yet specified the exact criminal record of the arrested man or the formal charges brought at the legalisation hearing.
Source: Google News CO — Bogotá