On January 9th, 1964 a group of over 200 Panamanian high school students marched to Balboa High School in the US Canal Zone with the intention of raising the Panamanian flag in what was supposed to be a peaceful protest. Peace turned to chaos and by days end over 22 Panamanians lay dead with no end to the violence in site.

When the students arrived they were met by a large crowd of people from the Zone which included students, adults and police. The students from the Zone refusted to allow the Panamanian students access to the flag pole which fueled the tensions. An altercation ensued and the Panamanian flag was ripped making a bad situation worse.

U.S. Army officials insisted bullets were never directly fired into the crowd, but one source says claims the military expended 450 .30 caliber rifle rounds, close to a thousand rounds of birdshot, and over 7,000 tear gas canisters.