Tension in Corrientes: a 20-year-old soccer player was shot outside a nightclub

Violence has once again shaken Argentine provincial football following a shooting attack against Alejo Ruíz Cobo, a 20-year-old player, which occurred over the weekend in the city of Corrientes. The central midfielder for San Jorge, a team that plays in the Primera B of the Liga Correntina, remains hospitalized at the Hospital Escuela with a severe spinal cord injury that affects the movement of his legs.

According to available information, the incident is believed to have originated from a dispute between groups of young people outside the Tampa nightclub, in the Costanera Sur area. Police officers reportedly intervened initially to separate those involved, but tension is said to have continued after alleged threats with a firearm were made.

After leaving the establishment with a friend, Ruíz Cobo was traveling at the intersection of Avenida Teniente Ibáñez and Calle Gutenberg when he was reportedly intercepted by individuals linked to the previous confrontation. At that point, one of the assailants allegedly fired a shot at close range at the footballer.

The young man was urgently transferred to the Hospital Escuela, where he remains hospitalized with a reserved prognosis. According to his mother, Laura, in a conversation with Radio Dos, he is stable and breathing on his own, although the bullet caused a severe spinal injury. She also noted that the bullet remains lodged in his body and, for the moment, no surgical intervention is planned; that possibility will be evaluated based on his progress.

Regarding the circumstances of the attack, there is still no official reconstruction. The player's mother explained that, at first, a friend had mentioned that it was an attempted robbery. Later, the family received other accounts from people who were reportedly at the nightclub, according to which the incident began with a fight between two groups and continued on the street.

According to those accounts, Alejo and his friends (four in total) were allegedly chased by a larger group after the argument. However, the mother clarified that she cannot confirm that sequence and that the family does not know precisely the exact location where the shot was fired or the circumstances of an alleged collision with a vehicle mentioned in some testimonies.

According to the information the family received at the hospital, the young man was transported by the emergency service from the vicinity of Sarmiento and Teniente Ibáñez. The investigation is being handled by the Seventh Police Station, whose deputy commissioner has, so far, been the only police authority to contact his relatives.

While Alejo continues to receive medical attention, family members, friends, and teammates have started prayer chains to support his recovery.