Venezuela protester dies after being shot through airbase fence
A young protester is shot and killed in Caracas as he and other demonstrators protest outside an airbase.
Friday 23 June 2017 14:25, UK
Unrest is continuing in Venezuela after a protester was killed when he was shot by a soldier from behind the fence of a military airbase.
Demonstrators, throwing petrol bombs and rocks, had gathered on the outside of La Carlota airbase in the capital Caracas amid continued protests against President Nicolas Maduro.
Video footage shows at least two soldiers shooting long firearms through the fence of the base - just a few feet from protesters.
One protester collapses to the ground and is carried off by other demonstrators.
It was later confirmed that 22-year-old David Vallenilla was shot with three rubber bullets and died in hospital.
Interior minister Nestor Reverol confirmed the death, adding: "The sergeant used an unauthorised weapon to repel the attack, causing the death of one of assailants."
He said the air force police sergeant would face legal proceedings.
The killing of Mr Vallenilla, along with the death of a teenage protester who was shot by security forces on Monday, have prompted fresh criticism of the force used to control riots.
Around 76 people have died in anti-government riots since the beginning of April.
Opposition politician Jose Manuel Olivares said Mr Vallenilla was killed by rubber bullets fired by guards at point blank range.
The attorney general's office said he was shot three times and a doctor told the Reuters news agency he suffered wounds to the heart and lungs.
Mr Maduro says the violence in his country is part of a foreign-led plot to overthrow his government and criticises the opposition for fanning it.