A peaceful evening on the terrace in the Venezuela neighborhood of Uribia, La Guajira, turned into a nightmare on March 22 when a gunman on a motorcycle pulled up and opened fire without warning. The victim was 27-year-old psychologist Catherine Paola Torres Barros, eight months pregnant, sitting with her mother. Multiple bullets struck her, leaving her fighting for her life and that of her unborn child.

Neighbors heard the rapid gunshots and rushed out, but the assassin had already sped away into the night. Torres Barros, who worked at the local E.S.E. Hospital Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro, was rushed in critical condition to a clinic in Maicao. Doctors faced an agonizing decision: her injuries were so severe that they performed an emergency cesarean section to save the baby. A baby girl named Salomé was born prematurely and placed in an incubator. While the newborn is reported stable, her mother remains in intensive care after undergoing additional surgery for wounds that affected her lungs and head. She continues to battle for survival.

What began as a shocking act of violence has now taken a dramatic twist. Authorities are investigating a possible crime of passion fueled by jealousy. New details emerging in the days after the attack have sparked intense speculation across La Guajira. Reports point to the circulation of an intimate video allegedly linked to Torres Barros that surfaced shortly after the shooting, reportedly from the social media account of a local mayor in a neighboring municipality. The video, accompanied by offensive messages and threats, has led investigators to examine whether a woman — possibly motivated by romantic rivalry — played a role as the intellectual author behind the hit.

The case has deeply shaken the close-knit community in Uribia, a region already grappling with violence and social challenges. Torres Barros, described as a dedicated mental health professional and daughter of a respected local teacher, had no known prior threats or involvement in conflicts, according to her family. Her husband, Eli Meriño, broke his silence in emotional statements, expressing fear for his family’s safety while placing hope in faith and justice. “We are not people who look for problems,” he reportedly said, pleading for authorities to clarify the motive quickly.

This brutal attack highlights the vulnerability of women in Colombia’s northern departments, where personal disputes can escalate into deadly hired violence. The fact that the victim was heavily pregnant adds an extra layer of horror — the gunman showed no mercy even as two lives hung in the balance.

As police continue to hunt for the shooter and analyze security camera footage that captured the motorcycle assassin, the investigation is expanding to include possible connections between the leaked video, local power dynamics, and long-simmering jealousies. Community leaders and women’s groups have called for swift action, fearing that without clear answers, fear will spread further in the region.

For now, the focus remains on the hospital rooms in Maicao: one tiny fighter in an incubator and her mother clinging to life in the ICU. The people of La Guajira are watching closely, praying for a miracle and demanding the truth behind this chilling attempt to silence a young psychologist and her unborn child.