Concepción hostage victim in intensive care after attack

A tense hostage situation in Concepción, Paraguay, concluded tragically on Tuesday when police fatally shot an assailant who had taken a female cashier hostage. The victim is currently in intensive care following severe injuries inflicted during the ordeal.

The incident unfolded when a man, identified as Aníbal Cayetano Ramírez Ortiz, 45, took a worker at a food establishment hostage. After three hours of negotiations with security forces, police intervened. Ramírez Ortiz reportedly wounded the cashier with a knife before police opened fire.

The injured woman, María Liz Cañete Peralta, 39, is hospitalized in intensive care at the Concepción Regional Hospital. Medical Director José Silva reported that she suffered wounds to her arm, a penetrating chest injury affecting her lung, and a fractured rib.

During the confrontation, the assailant also attempted to attack Police Commissioner Jorge Vidallet, the head of investigations in Concepción, who was involved in the negotiation and ultimately fired the fatal shot. Both the attacker and the victim were critically injured and taken to the hospital, where Ramírez Ortiz later died. The situation remains under investigation.

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The victim also presents a penetrating wound in the chest with pulmonary involvement, as well as a costal fracture.