Peruvian presidential hopeful Rafael Belaunde escaped a targeted shooting with minor injuries after gunmen attacked his car on Tuesday in Cerro Azul, a coastal town about 130 kilometers south of the capital, police confirmed.
The 50-year-old candidate was driving his SUV when two assailants on a motorcycle opened fire, discharging at least eight to nine rounds at the vehicle, according to General Oscar Arriola, Peru’s chief of police. Belaunde reportedly returned fire from inside the car during the assault. Three bullets shattered the SUV’s front windshield, causing facial and upper-body lacerations from flying glass.
Images broadcast across national television and widely circulated on social media showed Belaunde with visible bloodstains on his face and shirt following the attack. The candidate later downplayed the injuries, describing them as “scratches sustained after the incident.”
Authorities have launched an investigation into the attack, but no arrests have been made and no group has yet claimed responsibility.
Belaunde, a center-right politician and son of former President Fernando Belaunde Terry, is among several candidates vying for the presidency in a race already marked by deep polarization and public unrest.
