The former president of Peru has died after shooting himself in the head when police stormed through his front door to arrest him today.
Alan Garcia, 69, was supposed to face questioning for alleged money laundering but was rushed to Casimiro Ulloa hospital in Lima after putting a bullet in his skull.
As officers moved in to detain him, the two-time head of state said that he needed to speak with his lawyer and then shut himself in his room before a firearm blast rang out.
The ex-premier fought for his life for around three hours, during which time he suffered three cardiac arrests and was resuscitated three times, before being pronounced dead.
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Former Peruvian president Alan Garcia shot himself in the head at his Lima home moments after police stormed in to arrest him for corruption charges
Dramatic X-ray images appear to show Mr Garcia’s skull hours before he died in hospital
A scan purports to show the gunshot wound left when the bullet passed through Mr Garcia’s head
Footage taken from this morning purported to show police officers arriving at President Garcia’s house
And X-ray images purportedly show Mr Garcia’s gunshot wound left by the bullet which passed completely through his head.
The images have not been verified by MailOnline but the hospital monitor clearly shows today’s date and Mr Garcia’s full name.
His death was confirmed by current President Martinez Vizcarra.
‘Alan Garcia has died, long live Apra,’ said Omar Quesada, the general secretary of Garcia’s American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (Apra) party.
Speaking to reporters about the moments leading up to the fatal shooting, interior Minister Carlos Moran revealed that Garcia had told police he needed to call his attorney after they arrived at his home in Lima to arrest him.
Mr Moran said: ‘He entered his room and closed the door behind him.
‘Within a few minutes, a shot from a firearm was heard, and police forcibly entered the room and found Mr. Garcia sitting with a wound in his head.’
Mr Garcia was sent to hospital at 6.45am local time and had been in the operating room since 7.10am.
Supporters of the ex president react to the news of his death outside the hospital where he was rushed to
A woman cries in front of armed guards upon learning the news that her former head of state is dead
His lawyer, Erasmo Reyna, had confirmed the shooting and earlier described his client’s condition as ‘delicate’.
He said: ‘Right now he’s being operated on. Let’s pray to God to give him strength.’
Mr Garcia served two terms as president of Peru, the first from 1985 to 1990 and the second between 2006 and 2011.
He was under investigation after allegedly accepting bribes from Brazilian construction titan Odebrecht in return for contracts during his most recent spell in office.
Three officials were seen hovering outside Mr Garcia’s house at 6.33am local time, minutes before the ex-president was rushed to hospital
The two-time President who served between 1985 and 1990 and also from 2006 to 2011 testified to the attorney prosecutor’s office about alleged bribery in February 2017
Odebrecht has admitted that it paid $29million to Peruvian officials during three Presidential tenures, but Mr Garcia maintains his innocence and has slammed the inquiry as a political smear.
In a 2016 plea agreement with the US Justice Department, the Brazilian company admitted that it paid corrupt officials across Latin America nearly $800million to secure major infrastructure contracts.
Mr Garcia, who led the country’s Apra party, testified in front of the attorney prosecutor about these accusations in February 2017 and was supposed to give evidence in November 2018 but the hearing was cancelled at the last minute.
He was a skilled orator and appealed to a strong nationalist base to win his first election but after his administration brought crushing hyperinflation he governed as a free-marketeer on his return to the Palacio de Gobierno.
Large crowds gathered outside the Casimiro Ulloa Hospital in Lima as news spread that Peru’s former President had shot himself
Peruvian politics has been mired in suspected corruption which led to another former president, Pedro Pablo Kucyznski, detained last week.
Allies of Kuczynski said he was also taken on Tuesday night to a local clinic with high blood pressure.
A judge last week ordered Kuczynski’s detention for 10 days as he investigates 782,000 dollars in previously undisclosed payments from Odebrecht more than a decade ago.
A hearing is scheduled to take place to decide whether to increase his detention to three years.
Neighbouring South American nation Uruguay rejected Mr Garcia’s asylum plea late last year.
Health Minister Zulema Tomas earlier said Mr Garcia was in ‘very critical’ condition, not long before he died
Supporters of the Peruvian ex-president Alan Garcia gathered outside the Casimiro Ulloa Emergency Hospital waving ‘Apra’ flags in reference to the party he used to lead
Jorge del Castillo, Secretary General of the Apra party, walks at the hospital when the former party leader was in a ‘grave’ state
Peruvian President Alan Garcia gestures during his inauguration in Lima in 1985
Garcia was called as a witness as part of the Odebrecht investigation in November 2018 but the hearing was cancelled at the last minute
A supporter of Mr Garcia’s reacts to his shooting outside the hospital while she waits for news on the former president’s condition
Peru’s police officers stand guard at the emergency hospital Casimiro Ulloa where former Peruvian President Alan Garcia was taken