Cañizales was going to start studying at the Central University of Venezuela Medicine School. On 3 May 2017, he was participating in a demonstration on Rio de Janeiro Avenue, in Las Mercedes urbanization, in Caracas, when he was shot at the base of his neck by a spherical metallic projectile, dying at the age of 18 years.[1] Conductor Gustavo Dudamel condemned Maduro's response to the protests for the first time the day after the killing, writing in social media: "I raise my voice against violence and repression. Nothing can justify bloodshed. Enough of ignoring the just clamor of a people suffocated by an intolerable crisis."[2]
On 13 July, a night march was summoned in honor of those killed during the protests, including Cañizales, marching to the places where the demonstrators died. Dissident CICPC inspector Óscar Pérez made a surprise appearance in the march, before leaving and disappearing.[3]
The killing of Armando Cañizales was documented in a report by a panel of independent experts from the Organization of American States, considering that it could constitute a crime against humanity committed in Venezuela along with other killings during the protests.[1]