UPDATED: Here is what we know about the Metrocentro Shooter, Germán Dávila.

March 31, 2019

Nicaragua

Saturday’s sit in at Metrocentro was marred by an act of violence, when an armed man shot at the crowd of protesters who had gathered outside of this popular shopping mall in Managua.

The man was soon identified as Germán Dávila. He is a card-carrying member of the FSLN.

Here are the facts that are not in dispute: (1) Germán Dávila was at Metrocentro; (2) a crowd severely beat Germán Dávila at Metrocentro.

Here are the facts that are in dispute: (1) Germán Davilá’s age; (2) Whether or not Germán Dávila fired on the crowd; (3) Whether or not the crowd beat up Germán Dávila to disarm him.

Let’s start with Dávila’s age. According to the police statement, Dávila is 70 years old. However, his FSLN ID, which includes his national ID number, shows that Dávila was born on March 31, 1962 (on Nicaraguan national IDs, the first three numbers are a geographic code; the following six numbers are the person’s date of birth in day, month, year format, so 310362 is March 31, 1962). That means that Dávila turned 57 years old today.

Now, let’s consider the beating. The police statement identifies Dávila as the victim of an unprovoked lynching, executed by protesters who were already disturbing the peace, and “harassing and attacking women and children.” Video taken at the scene is used as evidence.

The beating of Germán Dávila is not in dispute. Videos of the attack show him surrounded by a large group of protesters who are, in fact, beating him up.

Video also shows Dávila on the ground, as protesters berate him verbally.

Journalists from El Nuevo Diario also filmed footage of the aftermath of the shooting. At the beginning, they mistakenly assume that Dávila is a protester who has been shot and identify him as “the first victim of this repression.” The journalists also assume that the shooter was a male government sympathizer, though Dávila’s gender and his ties to the governing party had not been established at the time the footage was filmed.

The video shows the crowd carrying Dávila and yelling for a doctor. It also shows how unidentified individuals rifle through his pockets and pull out bullets. During the video, you can hear a man say “we can’t let him die.”

The Nuevo Diario video also shows Dávila being berated by the crowd. A man’s voice can be heard saying “tie him up”, and someone attempts to do so, using a shoelace.

There are also photographs of Dávila, showing extensive bruising about the face and marks on his torso. Many of these images were taken by Oscar Sánchez for El Nuevo Diario.

 

However, that is only part of the story. Photographs and video show that Dávila was, in fact, armed. Yamil Vásquez, a photographer for El Nuevo Diario, took several images showing unidentified men disarming Dávila.

Channel 10 video footage shows the moment in which Dávila was tackled to the ground by an unidentified young man. The journalist can be heard in the background, yelling “they’re shooting, they’re shooting. They shot someone”. Then, the crowd gathers around the fallen Dávila and the attack on him starts.

The Facebook page Managua Vandálica 2.0 shared additional footage of the moments immediately before and during the shooting. The grainy footage shows protesters moving about the Metrocentro parking area. You can briefly see the altercation about 23 seconds in, and you get a different angle of the bystander who tackled the shooter. Then, shots ring out and chaos ensues as people run and duck for cover. You also see one of the wounded and a person rushing to his aid.

Journalists from El Nuevo Diario interviewed eye witnesses of the attack.

Journalist: had you already seen the man that shot?

Eye witness: Yes, we were watching him. He was acting suspiciously. All of the sudden, the police started throwing rocks at us from across the street. Then, the gentleman took out his gun and started shooting the people who were nearby. He shot three people.

Journalist: we see two bullet casings…

Eye witness: We took those from him. They were in his pockets.

Eye witness 2: We were retreating, and he just took out a gun and started shooting

The Nuevo Diario footage shows Dávila being transported to the ambulance. The crowd around him chants “sapo, sapo…” as paramedics wheel him through.

There is also footage of the police, taken at the time Dávila was firing into the crowd. They do not move. The incident involving Dávila is the only instance of shots being fired that was reported at that location on Saturday afternoon. Furthermore, there were no reports of police shooting at protesters, though riot police removed several people forcefully from the premises, arresting seven picketers.

The police’s press release promises to “investigate” the incident. More than likely, this means that they will comb through the video and photo evidence of Dávila’s beating to identify and charge anyone they can.

Dávila will not be charged.

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