“He was a loving child, in his heart there was no evil”: this was Daniel Duque, the boy who died in the CAI attack in Bogotá

The little Daniel Estiven Duque lost his life after the terrorist attack perpetrated last Saturday night against the Immediate Care Command (CAI) of Arborizadora Alta, in the south of Bogotá. The death of the minor was confirmed by the authorities in the early morning of Sunday due to the serious injuries he suffered.

What began as a simple errand for Daniel ended in a tragedy. The 12-year-old boy left his house to help his mother deliver sweatshirts to don Gustavo Parra, a family acquaintance, in front of the CAI in Ciudad Bolivar. However, at that time the explosives were detonated, causing several injuries to the minor's lung and heart due to the glass shards that were fired.

In an interview with CityTV, don Gustavo related that, when he went out to hand over money to Daniel, he was battered and clinging to the fence of the house while repeating: “Don Gustavo, don Gustavo!” “I went out to try to help him as much as I could. (...) He was very hard and, when I saw that he was disgraced, I got out, I helped him to have it and I said 'calm down, nothing has happened'”, explained the man.

“It's a very hard loss, the child was very special, polite, he has that feeling of sadness left,” added Parra, noting that it is an episode that he will never forget.

The emptiness caused by the death of Daniel, the youngest of five siblings, is also reflected in his closest beings. His mother, Gloria Buitrago, spoke with Noticias Caracol and explained that her son loved to dance, was very applied in his studies and, likewise, he was the one who organized the parties at school.

“The teachers told me that he was a leader, that he was really always and full of joy, filled many gaps, he was my youngest son. Unfortunately, this war we were experiencing always hurts the most innocent and, in this case, it was my child, my leader, my everything, my joy, it was everything to me,” said the victim's mother.

Daniel Estiven was taken to the hospital in Meissen, in the lower part of Ciudad Bolivar; however, there was no way to save his life. His death has caused dozens of neighbors and relatives to be summoned to the scene of the explosion to pay him posthumous tributes. Likewise, through social networks, citizens have expressed their rejection and are now asking the authorities for justice.

On Monday morning, the mayor of Bogotá, Claudia López, accompanied Daniel Estiven's family during a public event held at the El Paraiso Manuela Beltrán Sede C school, where the minor was studying. His family, friends and other colleagues were also present there.

“We are not going to allow any violent person to take away our peace of mind. We reject all forms of violence, we condemn them, and we will work with the authorities to find those responsible,” said the president of the Colombian capital this Sunday.

“The first investigations carried out by our police indicate that whoever planted that device and detonated it, did it knowing the whole environment, seeing that there was community, that there were families, that there were children. That is a criminal act that we condemn and that we reject,” he added.

In addition to Daniel Esteban's death, the terrorist attack left 35 people injured. Similarly, it was confirmed that a five-year-old girl also died on Monday morning after being diagnosed with brain death.

The president, Iván Duque, confirmed in recent hours, through his Twitter account, that investigations are already progressing to find the whereabouts of those responsible: “Together with the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of the Interior and Bogotá, we have arranged a reward of up to $300 million for information that allows us to capture and to prosecute these cowards. Colombia unites to confront and condemn terrorism. We fought them relentlessly.”

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