- Title: CHILE: Chilean strikers mourn loss of teenager allegedly shot by police
- Date: 27th August 2011
- Summary: VARIOUS OF STREET WHERE GUTIERREZ DIED
- Embargoed: 11th September 2011 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Chile, Chile
- Country: Chile
- Topics: Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA60SA7CVZJYEWMWY9GB8CY2PDU
- Story Text: The family home of a Chilean teenager shot dead during massive protests in Santiago was surrounded by the media on Friday (August 26).
It is the first fatality after months of protests against President Sebastian Pinera.
Led by students demanding free education, hundreds of thousands of Chileans have taken to the streets in recent months to call for greater distribution of the income of a copper price boom in the world's top producer of the metal.
Most of the family of 14-year-old Manuel Gutierrez didn't want to speak but his brother, Isaac, did say a few words, calling for justice and a "dignified farewell" for his brother.
"We are really affected by this and I sincerely hope that this allup in the hands of the justice system. I hope that is what will happen. We are still in the "wait and see" stage, like all of you, in uncertainty. We are the same. The only thing that I hope is that they try to find a solution to these issues as soon as possible and give my brother a dignified farewell, as he deserves," Isaac Gutierrez said.
Public attorney Washington Lizana said that according to witness testimonies the shots that killed the boy had rung out from a marked police vehicle as police battled with protesters overnight in Santiago.
"The boys were part of a group that was heading towards a part of the street where they heard shots and yelling, to see what was going on. The boy was helping his older brother - who was in a wheelchair - and according to their version of the events, a marked police vehicle fired three shots and one of these hit the boy," Lizana said.
Police denied officers were to blame, saying they had not used fire arms.
Carlos Burgos says he was also on the scene and hit by a bullet, sustaining these wounds.
He did not say where the shots had come from.
"I came here to buy something and I felt the impact. There were a lot of people here - women and children watching - and when I turned I was hit. I ran over there and I saw a boy and another kid hit as well," Burgos said.
Police used water cannon and tear gas to defuse the protests on Thursday as demonstrators blocked roads, threw rocks and set fire to piles of trash.
Pinera is not likely to be ousted, despite the social upheaval, but some see him as a lame duck less than half way into his term. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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