– We are appalled by the incident, Mera’s ministry writes in a short statement.
According to the Dominican newspaper Accentseven shots were heard inside the ministry.
Stormed into the office
Sources in local media say that an armed man stormed into the weekly meeting of the ministry and shot and killed 55-year-old Mera.
Police immediately moved in, but the perpetrator is said to have barricaded himself inside the building, according to local media.
The suspected perpetrator is now in police custody. The newspaper Acento writes that the person in question was a personal friend of the deceased minister.
A spokesman for President Luis Abinader said.
“On behalf of the Government and the President of the Republic, we express our deepest sympathy to the Mera Villegas family,” they said in a statement.
– A tragedy
No further details have been released about the killing, and it is not known whether anyone other than Mera was shot.
– IN PLACE: Police are in place outside the ministry building in Santo Domingo, Monday. Photo: ERIKA SANTELICES / AFP
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Bartolomé Pujals, one of Mera’s colleagues in the government of the Dominican Republic, says according to the AP that his death is a tragedy.
– We Dominicans must come together to achieve a pact for peace and peaceful coexistence. No more violence, he says.
Mera was appointed Minister of the Environment in August 2020.
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