Genesis Carmona, a 22-year-old Venezuelan beauty queen, was shot in the head Tuesday, Feb. 18 at an anti-government protest in Valencia. She was pronounced dead on Wednesday afternoon, making it the fifth fatality during a protest in the country.
Carmona won the title of Miss Tourism in 2013 for her state of Carabobo. She was one of several student demonstrators on Tuesday protesting on behalf of imprisoned protest leader Leopoldo Lopez against President Nicolas Maduro's government.
According to the Daily Mail, the protestors are demanding "better security, an end to goods shortages and protected freedom of speech." Since the demonstrations started, three people have been fatally shot in Caracus and another was killed after being run over by a car in Carupano, the Daily News reports.
The deaths and injuries have been blamed on armed government supporters who have allegedly been firing into the crowds. The person responsible for Carmona's death has not been identified.
"How long are we going to live like this? How long do we have to tolerate this pressure, with them killing us?" a relative of Carmona's said, the Daily News reports. "She only needed one more semester to graduate."
Following the shooting pictures surfaced on the Internet showing the 22-year-old lying in a man's arms as another person sped away on a motorcycle desperately trying to get her to a hospital. Sadly this is the second time a Venezuela beauty queen has died this year.
In January, former Miss Venezuela Monica Spear and her ex-husband Henry Berry were shot and killed in front of their 5-year-old daughter. According to reports, Spear was vacationing in Venezuela with her family when their car broke down on the highway.
Alleged robbers approached the vehicle and opened fire killing Spears and Berry. Their daughter, Maya, was shot in the leg but survived the attack. Venezuelan Justice Minister Miguel Rodriquez Torres told CNN that it's believed the motive was robbery.
