A Panama international midfielder was shot dead in the coastal city of Colon after an unidentified armed assailant attacked him, police said.

A police report indicated that the assailant on Saturday fired several times at Amilcar Henriquez, Efe news reported.

Henriquez, who was capped 75 times for Panama, had rejoined his original club Arabe Unido in Panamanian football's top tier.

The Pan American Football Federation (Fepafut) confirmed the death on Twitter, saying: "We deeply regret the death of our national team player Amilcar Henriquez. God receive your soul Mickey."

Panama's president, Juan Carlos Varela, condemned the incident, promising to mobilize the state's security forces to find those responsible.