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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Bandits Climb Aboard Sailboat, Shoot Couple

Associated Press

A U.S. citizen was killed and his wife wounded Sunday when bandits climbed aboard their sailboat off Panama’s Pacific coast, a spokesman for the U.S. Southern Command said.

The couple’s identity was withheld pending notification of kin.

Southern Command press spokesman Capt. Jim Knotts said the husband was shot in the face. While he struggled with the intruders, his wife radioed the U.S. Coast Guard, who alerted the Southern Command.

A helicopter was dispatched to the scene, in Bahia Honda in the Pacific coast state of Veraguas.

The couple was taken to Gorgas military hospital in the capital, where the husband’s death was confirmed and the woman was said to be in stable condition.

Panamanian police declined to comment on the case.