PARAMARIBO, Suriname (AP) — Suriname’s former president, Chandrikapersad Santokhi, an ex-police commissioner who investigated the 1982 killings of more than a dozen political opponents that deeply scarred the South American country, has died. He was 67.
Santokhi, who was also known as "Chan,” led the troubled country as president from 2020 to 2025, and previously served as minister of justice and police from 2005 to 2010.
Suriname President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons confirmed Santokhi’s death in a statement on social media, writing that “his years of service in various public functions will be remembered.”
The cause of death was not immediately known.
Rob Jetten, the prime minister of the Netherlands, wrote on X that he was “grieved and shocked by the sudden passing” of the former president: “As president, and in his other roles, he meant a great deal to Suriname. He also tirelessly worked to strengthen the ties between the Netherlands and Suriname.”
Suriname is a former Dutch colony.
Also mourning Santokhi's death was Caricom, a Caribbean trade bloc that saw him as chairman from July to December 2022: “The community has lost a dedicated regionalist.”
Irfaan Ali, president of neighboring Guyana, described Santokhi as a “man of quiet strength” who served his people and country “with dedication and conviction.”
“The region has lost a fine statesman, one who carried the mantle of leadership with grace and humility,” he wrote on X.
Santokhi took over a bankrupt Suriname from his predecessor, former dictator Desi Bouterse, and led the country to economic stability, partly supported by an International Monetary Fund program. However, austere measures implemented to comply with the program translated into big sacrifices for the Surinamese people, including the phasing out of fuel, water and electricity subsidies.
In February 2023, hundreds of demonstrators stormed Suriname’s Parliament to protest high fuel and electricity prices as they demanded Santokhi’s resignation.
Voters denied Santokhi a second term following the May 2025 general election.
Earlier, as minister of justice and police, Santokhi cracked down on drug trafficking and other crimes, earning him the nickname “The Sheriff.”
Before entering politics, Santokhi was a police commissioner, leading the investigation into the so-called “December killings,” in which 15 political opponents of the military regime led by Bouterse were shot and killed in December 1982.
Bouterse faced a criminal trial that began in 2007, a quarter-century after the killings took place. He was eventually sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted twice in the killings but remained a fugitive up until his death in late 2024.
Bouterse had accepted “political responsibility” for the killings but always denied he was present for them.
Even before the trial began, Bouterse accused Santokhi of wanting to imprison and kill him. The two were fierce political opponents.
Santokhi’s success as a police officer and later as a minister paved the way for him to claim the chairmanship of the Progressive Reform Party in 2011 following the resignation of then-chairman Ramdien Sardjoe.
FILE - Suriname President Chandrikapersad Santokhi speaks during a plenary session at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Nov. 12, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)
A 15-year-old student shot a teacher at a Texas high school and then fatally shot himself Monday, according to authorities, who were still investigating what led to the early morning attack.
No other injuries were reported at Hill Country College Preparatory High School in Bulverde, a small but growing city near San Antonio.
The teacher was taken to a nearby hospital. Comal County Sheriff Mark Reynolds said hours after the shooting that he did not know her condition.
“What happened today is something no community ever wants to face, but we prepare for something that we hope never occurs,” Reynolds said.
He said the student shot the teacher before turning the gun on himself. Reynolds said investigators were working to understand the relationship between the student and the teacher and looking into how the firearm was obtained.
The small campus of roughly 250 students was placed on lockdown shortly after 8:30 a.m., according to the school. One student told San Antonio television station KSAT that they heard loud bangs coming from a room on the second floor and then heard screaming.
Another student told the TV station that she heard five shots and yelling before her debate teacher told students to get inside a classroom.
Students were bused to a nearby middle school, where parents stood in long lines, some praying, as they waited to be reunited. Reynolds said the family members of the shooter had also gone into in the reunification line.
“We’re trying to collect as much information as we can from witnesses,” Reynolds said.
Jesse Lopez, a parent, told KSAT that it will be difficult to tell his daughter that she has to eventually go back to class.
“For one, she has autism, and she’ll be afraid to go back, she’ll be real afraid to go back,” Lopez said.
The school canceled classes for Tuesday but counselors would still be made available for students and families, principal Julie Wiley said in a statement. She did not provide details about the teacher's condition.
“Our hearts are with everyone impacted, especially that teacher, their family, and our school community,” Wiley said. “We know this has been a difficult day.”
The high school, which is part of the Comal Independent School District, focuses on academics and skills to prepare students for college, according to the district's website. Its curriculum is centered on science, technology, engineering, arts and math, known as STEAM, with electives that include cybersecurity and engineering.
The school opened in August 2020 with a freshman class. It has since grown to offer grades nine through 12.
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Associated Press reporter Heather Hollingsworth contributed to this report from Kansas City, Missouri.
This image taken from video provided by KSAT shows first responders outside after a student shot a teacher at Hill Country College Preparatory High School, Monday, March 30, 2026, in Bulverde, Texas. (KSAT via AP)
This image taken from video provided by KSAT shows first responders outside after a student shot a teacher at Hill Country College Preparatory High School, Monday, March 30, 2026, in Bulverde, Texas. (KSAT via AP)
This image taken from video provided by KSAT shows parents waiting in line outside Bulverde Middle School to be reunited with their children after a teacher was shot by a student at Hill Country College Preparatory High School, Monday, March 30, 2026, in Bulverde, Texas. (KSAT via AP)
