The gun used by a teenager in an attempt to assassinate a Colombian presidential candidate was ‘acquired’ through a gun shop in Arizona, law enforcement sources revealed.
The official, who spoke to the Colombian outlet El Tiempo on condition of anonymity, said that suspect Juan Sebastían Rodríguez Casallas, 15, shot Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay with a 9mm Glock that was purchased on August 6, 2020 outside Phoenix.
The source said that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) was also able to confirm that the weapon had been purchased at AJI Sporting Goods in Apache Junction.
In addition, the law enforcement agent told the outlet that the ATF was able to identify the buyer as Charles Joe Anderson.
Colombian National Police Director General Carlos Triana confirmed during a press conference Monday that the weapon was legally purchased in Arizona and said investigators were looking into how the gun made its way to Colombia.
An ATF spokesperson told the Daily Mail that it could not confirm or deny the report.
AJI Sporting Goods owner Jeff Serdy told the Daily Mail on Monday that he had not been contacted by officials from Colombia or the US.
Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, who will be seeking the presidency in 2026, was shot Saturday while addressing a crowd of about 250 residents in Fontibon, a neighborhood in the Colombia capital city of Bogotá. The gun that was used by 14-year-old shooter Juan Sebastian Rodríguez Casallas was originally purchased from an Arizona gun shop in August 2020
Juan Sebastian Rodríguez Casallas (pictured) was arrested moments after shooting presidential-hopeful Miguel Uribe Turbay in Bogotá, Colombia on Saturday. The 14-year-old suspect was arrested with a 9 mm Glock, which had been previously purchased in Arizona on August 6, 2020
The owner of AJI Sporting Goods, Jeff Serdy, confirmed to DailyMail.com on Monday that the gun that was used in the shooting of Colombian Senator and presidential candidate, Miguel Uribe Turbay, was acquired via his business as a ‘transfer’
Serdy confirmed that Anderson acquired the weapon via a ‘transfer’ and that his gun shop received a $30 fee.
‘For the record all state and federal laws were very strictly followed during this transaction,’ Serdy said.
The gun was purchased from another store, whose name Serdy was unable to share.
A 2024 Colombian National Police report showed that at least 3,954 guns seized in the country were made in the US. Another 805 were manufactured in Italy and 414 were made in Germany.
Video footage showed Senator Uribe Turbay, who is planning to run in the 2026 presidential election, addressing a crowd of about 250 residents Saturday afternoon in Fontibon, a neighborhood in the Colombia capital of Bogotá.
Rodríguez Casallas could be seen standing several feet away from Uribe Turbay, who was discussing how his administration would combat mental illness, when he shot the lawmaker in the back of the head and fired about five more shots.
Surveillance video showed the teen shooter racing out of the park and running down a street as Uribe Turbay’s bodyguards chased after him.
A second video showed Rodríguez Casallas hobbling towards a gated residential complex and then turning around to aim his gun at the guards.
Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay was shot at a campaign rally in Bogotá on Saturday
Juan Sebastian Rodríguez Casallas was seen on a surveillance camera aiming his gun the bodyguards for the Colombian presidential hopeful, Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, before he was captured by the police
Uribe Turbay underwent surgery at Fundación Sante Fe, a clinic where he remains hospitalized.
The medical facility said in a statement Monday morning that the presidential hopeful ‘remains in critical condition and has had little response to the interventions and medical treatments performed.’
Uribe Turbay’s wife, María Claudia Tarazona, took to Instagram, where she posted a heartfelt photo of her hands placed over the senator’s chest.
‘I ask you with all my heart, don’t stop praying. Miguel needs a miracle,’ she wrote.
Uribe Turbay’s uncle, Julio César Uribe, told reporters outside the hospital Monday that the senator’s condition is ‘very delicate but only doctors have the answer.’
Authorities launched an operation in Villas de Alcalas, the neighborhood where Rodríguez Casallas lives with his aunt.
Colombian authorities arrested Juan Sebastian Rodríguez Casallas, who shot Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay at presidential campaign rally on Saturday in Bogotá
The teen, who suffered a gunshot wound and is hospitalized at a clinic under the supervision of 50 police officers, told cops that he received orders from the leader of a drug dealing gang to carry out the shooting.
‘It was the man from the (spot), I’ll tell you who it was, let me give you the numbers,’ Rodríguez Casallas said as he was being placed under arrest.
A law enforcement source told El Tiempo that a unit of 20 cops were dispatched to the neighborhood.
‘There are door-to-door inquiries asking for the name of the person who controls traffic in one of the parks in the area,’ they said.
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