Mototaxista Killed in Barranquilla Shooting

Barranquilla, Colombia – On the night of October 2, 2025, a mototaxista was shot and killed in a targeted attack in the Las Malvinas neighborhood of Barranquilla.

The victim, identified as 21-year-old Johan Estiven Pimentel Escorcia, was reportedly arriving at a meeting spot for mototaxistas at the intersection of Calle 110 and Carrera 9G after completing a passenger service.

According to police reports, a gunman waited for Pimentel among other drivers and approached him without saying a word before opening fire. The assailant fled the scene on a motorcycle parked nearby.

In the shooting, another individual, 46-year-old Luis Alfonso Martínez Castro, was injured and has since been taken to a medical facility where he is in stable condition. Pimentel, however, succumbed to his injuries at the scene.

Judicial sources revealed that Pimentel had three previous charges listed in the Sistema Penal Oral Acusatorio (SPOA) for theft and illegal possession of a firearm. Authorities are pursuing leads related to his past and the motive behind the shooting.

Furthermore, investigative sources noted that Pimentel had received death threats two days prior to the attack, reportedly from an individual known as alias Gabo, identified as a local leader of a criminal group in the area, known as ‘Los Pepes’.