Amilcar Henriquez dead: Four people held in connection with murder of Panama international football player

Police in Panama have said that they are holding four people in relation to the murder

Amilcar Henriquez playing against Clint Dempsey in a 2013 match (Getty)

Police in Panama have said that they are holding four people in connection with the murder of international footballer Amilcar Henriquez.

The four people held are all teenagers, officials added.

Authorities say a gunman shot the 33-year-old Henriquez several times as he was leaving his home in the city of Nuevo Colón, on Saturday.

A 36-year-old man named Delano Wilson was also killed, while a third man, Josimar Gómez, was wounded.

There has not yet been a suggested motive for the killing, but there has been no evidence that a robbery was involved.

Officials said the gunmen carefully planned the murder, hiding in a home opposite to Henriquez before they shot him.

Amilcar Henriquez was shot outside his home (AFP/Getty)

A 70-year-old woman and three teenage girls live at the home and have been instructed by Panamanian authorities not to leave the country while investigations are being conducted.

It had initially been reported that Wilson was a friend of Henriquez, but the man’s family have since confirmed that the pair did not know one another and that Wilson was simply crossing the street to buy some fast-food when he was caught in the cross-fire.

Henriquez, who represented his country over 100 times, had been playing for Panama in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers and for the local team C.D. Árabe Unido.

Before that, he had played for a number of Colombian teams, including Independiente Medellín, Real Cartagena and América de Cali.

The president of Panama, Juan Carlos Varela, condemned the murder of Henriquez on Twitter and insisted that justice would be done.