Police arrested a man suspected of killing Colombian soccer player Edison Chara after a card game near the outskirts of Cali, the capital of the western department of Cauca.
Colombian media reported the suspect was captured just a few blocks from the Cafe Social where Chara was shot late Tuesday night.
The commander of the Cauca Police, Carlos Ernesto Rodriguez, confirmed the capture, explaining that the suspect was detained for illegally possessing a firearm.
“It is necessary to await the opinion of the forensics and ballistics teams to determine the responsibility [of the murder],” said the police.
Witnesses reported that the 31-year-old soccer player was shot in the head after a fight broke out because of a game of cards. Chara was taken to hospital in Puerto Tejada and transferred to the Valle del Lili de Cali clinic, where he died in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Chara was a striker for the Chinese club Dalian Aerbin. He previously played for the Colombian clubs Huila, Pereira, Deportivo Cali, America and Once Caldas.