A judge released a 16-year-old boy accused of causing the death of 14-year-old Valentina Alape Farfán in an incident involving a modified traumatic weapon in Neiva. The decision, appealed by the prosecution, allows the minor to continue the process at liberty while the investigation proceeds. The case has sparked outrage in the Huila community.
On December 4, in an apartment in the Bosques de San Luis macroproject, Comuna Seis of Neiva, five minors—two boys and three girls—gathered without adult supervision. Among them was Valentina Alape Farfán, a ninth-grade student at Liceo Santa Librada, who had left home to meet a friend.
According to statements from those present, the 16-year-old boy was handling a modified traumatic weapon, assuring others it had no bullets and was safe. During what they described as a game, he pointed it first at another girl without firing, but when aimed at Valentina, the projectile struck her head, causing a fatal injury.
The minors alerted the community, and Valentina was rushed in a taxi with her mother, Liliana Alape Farfán, to a medical center. After transferring to an ambulance, she arrived at ESE Carmen Emilia Ospina in critical condition and was moved to Hospital Universitario Hernando Moncaleano Perdomo, where brain death was declared. She passed away in the early hours of December 5.
Neiva's Metropolitan Police apprehended the minor that same day and seized the weapon. In the hearing, the arrest was legalized, and he was charged with manufacturing, trafficking, or possession of firearms and culpable homicide. However, the judge found no prior record or sufficient elements for detention in a youth facility, releasing him but keeping him linked to the process. The prosecution appealed the ruling.
Investigations continue to determine the weapon's origin and how it reached the teenager. Liliana Alape has demanded thorough justice, rejecting impunity in this case that has shaken Neiva.
