Eight People Die After Shooting At Squid Game Themed Halloween Party

The incident was said to have occurred on Friday morning (29 October) at a bowling alley in the Santa Ana neighbourhood where five people were allegedly shot dead, seven reportedly injured and three other bodies said to have appeared in a garbage dump nearby.

According to police sources, the publication says prosecutor, Rafael Baloyes, reported that the incident began when an individual shot at alleged members of the rival gang called 'Los Galacticos', who was said to have responded to the shots.

The attacker who started the shooting reportedly died on the spot, while four other people died in the hospital.

Two people were allegedly arrested, including the brother of one of those killed in the shooting, who was found with a firearm.

"We assume that he used the firearm to defend his brother," Baloyes said.

After the shooting at the Panama nightclub, Police Director John Dornheim pointed out that several of those involved had criminal records and gunshot wounds from previous incidents.

The scope of these gangs is such that prosecutor Baloyes was very pessimistic about the situation at a press conference.

"These criminal groups are not going to stop having criminal behaviour linked to drug trafficking, gangs... this is going to bring a consequence," said the prosecutor of the cause.

What happened during the early hours of Friday is sadly not an isolated case in Panama, which in recent weeks has suffered several crimes in restaurants and commercial premises.

Panamanian authorities link this type of murder with settling scores between rival gangs for control of drug routes.

Experts consider that the greater the number of seizures, the greater the number of murders in retaliation for the seized merchandise.