PANAMA CITY, July 22 (Xinhua) -- The shooting death over the weekend of Miguel Lasso, a former member of Panama's indoor soccer team who played in the world championship last November in Thailand, has shocked Panamanian sporting circles.
Local media reported Monday that Lasso was shot Sunday night outside a nightclub in the popular neighborhood of San Miguelito, in the capital Panama City, and police are investigating the circumstances of the shooting.
Television stations broadcast scenes of mourning and indignation caused by the news of Lasso's sudden death, as well as the flurry of messages on Twitter from fans who lamented the incident.
The Panamanian Olympic Committee also condemned the violent death and called for the killer or killers to be brought to justice.
Lasso played for Suntracs, a team in Panama's "League of Ascent" and was a star of the last indoor soccer world championship.
Panama's indoor soccer team, led by the Cuban-born Agustin Campuzano, was the first ever team from the Confederation of North American, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) to play well enough to go on to the second round, though there they were eliminated by Brazil.