In the early hours of Sunday, a targeted shooting in Belize’s Orange Walk District has escalated long-simmering public anxiety over a recent nationwide spike in gun-related violence, leaving a 28-year-old man injured and investigators working to unpack the circumstances of the attack.
The incident, which unfolded around 3:15 a.m. on June 29, 2026, saw 28-year-old Eric Martinez shot while sitting inside a vehicle alongside another man. According to official law enforcement details, the pair were followed by a second vehicle, whose occupants opened fire multiple times in their direction. Martinez, the only person hit in the attack, survived the shooting and is currently listed in stable condition at a local medical facility.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Hilberto Romero, head of the National Crime Investigating Branch, confirmed to reporters that while no definitive motive has been finalized, investigators are working off the lead that Martinez had a prior dispute with an unknown party that may have led to the pre-planned attack. “We have not established a clear motive,” Romero told reporters in a post-incident briefing. “Information is that he had dispute with someone in the past, and this person may have followed him in that vehicle.”
As of the latest update, authorities have taken two persons into custody for questioning in connection with the shooting. The weapon used in the attack remains unaccounted for, and law enforcement teams continue to actively search for the firearm. Police also confirmed that Martinez has no prior criminal record with the department, a detail that has deepened local public unease over the randomness of recent violent outbreaks.
This shooting is just the latest in a wave of violent incidents that have shaken the country over the weekend, which already claimed three other lives across Belize. As investigators continue to process evidence and follow leads, residents of Orange Walk District remain on edge, with growing public pressure on law enforcement to address the accelerating surge in gun crime across the nation.