Havana/The Ministry of the Interior described the gunshot wound suffered by a 14-year-old minor in the city of Camagüey, caused by a police officer, as “a regrettable incident.” In an information note collected by state media, the institution confirmed the fact and assured that the shot occurred “accidentally” when the officer himself “missed a shot from his service weapon.”
According to the statementboth the minor and the agent were injured and received immediate medical attention at the Eduardo Agramonte Piña Provincial Pediatric Hospital. The note adds that the child “was operated on, is conscious and his life is not in danger,” and that investigations are still ongoing “to fully clarify the incident.”
The official version comes long after the event was reported by independent media and social media users, also warning of an information fence and a strong police presence around the hospital where the minor is admitted.
The projectile hit the hip or femur area, the minor underwent emergency surgery
The journalist José Luis Tan Estrada was the first to report, through his Facebook pagethat a 13-year-old boy – according to his medical sources – had been urgently admitted to the Pediatric Hospital of Camagüey after receiving “a shot allegedly fired by a police officer.”
Tan Estrada explained that the projectile hit “in the hip or femur area,” and that the minor underwent emergency surgery to save his life. The publication also reported the heavy deployment of police forces, State Security agents and Communist Party officials around the hospital, as well as the control of access to the area.
Hours later, the middle The Watcher of Cuba expanded the informationnoting that witnesses reported unusual patrol movements since Monday afternoon. “The hospital and the surrounding streets remain under strict surveillance, with the presence of leaders of the Communist Party,” reported the portal, which also denounced the total absence of official information about the minor’s condition and the circumstances of the shooting.
The note from the Ministry of the Interior, released long after the event, attempts to defuse the impact of the complaints and, at the same time, discredit those who spread them. The text begins by accusing “cybermercenaries who usually generate defamatory and subversive campaigns” of having “manipulated” the incident.
The authorities maintain that the minor – whose age is raised by one year – was a subject “controlled by his terrible social behavior”, supposedly linked to “facts that are classified as crimes.” According to the official version, the teenager was carrying a knife and “resisted arrest,” which would have caused the “accident” in which both he and the agent were injured.
The note dedicates a good part of its content to discrediting the non-state press
The institutional narrative attempts to justify the use of the weapon and, at the same time, shift responsibility to the victim, presenting him as a “problematic minor.” Instead of focusing on the seriousness of the event – that a child was shot by an armed official – the statement dedicates much of its content to discrediting the non-state press and those demanding explanations.
The administrative tone of the text is also striking, which mentions support for the family and medical assistance, but omits any expression of apology or public commitment to accountability.
On the other hand, it is common for the State to silence similar episodes. In recent years, cases of police violence – including fatal shootings – have been reported by independent media and then denied or minimized by the authorities, who often resort to the same script: accusing the victims of “antisocial behavior” and the journalists of “manufacturing campaigns.”
