A peaceful day honoring mothers in northern Belize ended in senseless violence early Sunday night, leaving a young man dead and a small community grappling with shock and grief. The fatal shooting unfolded in the quiet Trial Farm neighborhood of Orange Walk District, just steps away from a local basketball court that had hosted a public Mother’s Day event organized by the village council only hours before.
According to initial law enforcement accounts, 22-year-old Roberto Wicab had left the wrapped-up celebration with his common-law wife Rita Aldana when the pair discovered Wicab’s car had a flat tire parked in an empty lot near the venue. As they worked to repair the tire around 7:30 p.m., two unidentified men rode up to the lot on a motorcycle. One of the men pulled a gun and opened fire directly on Wicab. A second man, Adrian Chuc, who was passing through the area at the time of the attack, was also struck by gunfire and wounded.
Aldana, who was standing just a few feet from Wicab when the shots rang out, told reporters the attack unfolded faster than she could process. “It happened very quickly. I didn’t realize, I didn’t see. In just a minute everything happened. I only saw some young men, but I couldn’t see their faces. It was fast—that’s what happened,” she shared in a phone interview.
First responders rushed both victims to a nearby hospital, a trip that took less than three minutes from the shooting site. Despite the rapid emergency response, Wicab was pronounced dead shortly after arriving for treatment.
Belize Police Department ASP Stacy Smith confirmed that investigators are currently working to identify and locate the two male suspects connected to the attack. As of Tuesday, no clear motive for the targeted shooting has been established, and authorities have not released any details about potential connections between the suspects and Wicab.
Aldana told reporters she is unaware of any enemies Wicab may have had, adding that he had turned his life around over the past five years after the pair began living together and started attending church regularly. “Well, he wasn’t a saint—he had his mistakes. But about five years ago, when I started living with him, his life changed completely. He became a responsible man. He took care of children that weren’t even his. He behaved well. I can’t speak badly of him. He tried to do good, and he was respected in the community,” Aldana said.
Wicab’s killing marks one of three separate homicides recorded across Belize over the Mother’s Day weekend, leaving communities across the country reeling from a spate of violent deaths over a holiday meant for celebration and connection. Local law enforcement has not indicated whether the three killings are connected, and investigations into all three incidents remain ongoing.
This reporting is based on on-the-ground accounts from Trial Farm and official police statements, originally broadcast on Belize’s News Five.