Thirty-nine-year-old right-wing Senator Miguel Uribe underwent successful initial surgery to contain injuries from Saturday's attack, but doctors warned his life was still in serious peril.
Uribe's shooting has utterly shocked a nation that had believed decades of bloody political and narco violence were largely in the past.
“Our hearts are broken, Colombia hurts,“ Carolina Gomez, a 41-year-old businesswoman, told AFP as she lit candles and prayed outside the hospital where Uribe was being treated.
Uribe's wife Maria Claudia Tarazona thanked Colombians for their support and asked that they collectively pray for his survival.
Although a security guard at the scene captured the alleged gunman, the motive for the shooting is still not publicly known.
The government has vowed to use every police, military and intelligence resource to uncover the motive and find those who hired the alleged would-be assassin.
The young Senator's family history traces the tragedies of modern Colombia, making the attack all the more poignant for many.
But Uribe is best known as the son of Diana Turbay, a famed Colombian journalist who was killed after being kidnapped by Pablo Escobar and whose death rocked the nation.
A team of about 100 investigators are now working to determine the motive for the attack, Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said Sunday.
The suspect is believed to be about 15 years old was injured in the affray and was receiving treatment, said police director Carlos Fernando Triana.
The attack has been condemned by politicians across the political spectrum.
The shooting was similarly condemned from overseas, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling it “a direct threat to democracy.”
“President Petro needs to dial back the inflammatory rhetoric and protect Colombian officials,“ the top US diplomat said.
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