A gunfight in southern Colombia

A gunfight broke out in a church in a cocaine-producing region of southern Colombia, leaving at least three people dead and 14 wounded, authorities said Sunday. The bloodshed began when assailants entered the church Saturday night and shot and killed a man in the pews, said Maj. Eduardo Beltran, police commander in Puerto Asis, where the attack occurred. The apparent target of the hit men was in another row with his family, however, and when the shooting started, he took out a gun and shot back, the commander said. ``It turned into a firefight,'' Beltran said. He said investigations indicate that right-wing militia groups or common criminals may have been behind the attack in Puerto Asis, some 330 miles southwest of Bogota, the capital. Among the dead were two men and one woman, Beltran said. One of the injured was a child, he added. Pilar Castro, a hospital doctor, told local radio that the death toll numbered four, and included children. There was no immediate way to account for the discrepancy. gunfight broke out in a church in a cocaine-producing region of southern Colombia, leaving at least three people dead and 14 wounded, authorities said Sunday. The bloodshed began when assailants entered the church Saturday night and shot and killed a man in the pews, said Maj. Eduardo Beltran, police commander in Puerto Asis, where the attack occurred. The apparent target of the hit men was in another row with his family, however, and when the shooting started, he took out a gun and shot back, the commander said. ``It turned into a firefight,'' Beltran said. He said investigations indicate that right-wing militia groups or common criminals may have been behind the attack in Puerto Asis, some 330 miles southwest of Bogota, the capital. Among the dead were two men and one woman, Beltran said. One of the injured was a child, he added. Pilar Castro, a hospital doctor, told local radio that the death toll numbered four, and included children. There was no immediate way to account for the discrepancy, informs the Guardian Unlimited. According to CNEWS, a shootout erupted in a church in a cocaine-producing region of southern Colombia, leaving at least three people dead and 14 wounded, authorities said Sunday. While police put the death toll at three, a local doctor said four had been killed. The bloodshed began when assailants entered the church Saturday night and shot dead a man in the pews, said Maj. Eduardo Beltran, police commander in Puerto Asis, where the attack occurred. But the apparent target of the gunmen was in another row with his family. When the shooting began he took out a gun and starting returning fire, Beltran said. "It turned into a firefight," Beltran said. Police earlier said the assailants were suspected members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or the FARC, as Colombia's main rebel group is known. But Beltran said further investigations indicate right-wing militia groups or common criminals may have been behind the attack in Puerto Asis, located 530 kilometres southwest of Bogota, the capital. While pamphlets with FARC propaganda were found amid the bloodshed, Beltran said the attackers may have dropped them there to confuse the investigation. Among the dead were two men and one woman, Beltran said. One of the injured was a child, he added.

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