PORT LOYOLA, Belize – Three deadly shooting incidents unfolded across Belize within three hours on Wednesday evening, leaving a 19-year-old local man dead and his family grappling with an inexplicable loss. Anthony Perry, a young resident of the area who had recently been attempting to distance himself from past violence, was gunned down just a few hundred feet from his home while on his way to visit a relative.
Allyssa Teul, Perry’s girlfriend of three years, recalled the ordinary evening that quickly turned tragic. “We were cooking together, he told me he’d be right back,” she shared in an off-camera interview with News Five. “By the time I stepped outside, his aunt was asking if that was Anthony down the road. I ran as fast as I could, and I never expected to find him lying on the ground.”
Teul, who held Perry as he drew his final breath, remembered him as a loving partner and the life of every gathering, even as she acknowledged his troubled past. “It hurts more than words can say,” she said. “We had three years of memories together, and I never thought I’d lose him like this. He wasn’t perfect, but he was trying to change.”
Local law enforcement has launched a full investigation into the killing. Assistant Commissioner of Police Hilberto Romero, head of the National Crimes Investigation Branch, confirmed that authorities suspect the shooting is tied to a long-running rivalry between groups in the Louis Bevans Area.
“When officers arrived on scene, they found Perry had sustained multiple gunshot wounds,” Romero stated in a press briefing. “He was rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Witness accounts indicate an unidentified male approached Perry on the street and fired multiple shots before fleeing. We are currently searching for two persons of interest and reviewing surveillance footage from the area to identify suspects.”
Romero added that Perry had a prior criminal record and was known to law enforcement, a detail that aligns with the family’s acknowledgment of his past troubles. But Perry’s father, Anthony Perry Sr., says his son was working to leave that life behind.
“I got three missed calls, and before I could call back, my oldest son called me again and said, ‘Daddy, they just killed Anthony,’” the elder Perry recalled through tears. “When I found out my boy was gone, it broke me. My son was outspoken and respectful, and as far as I know, he never killed anyone. He got into fights growing up because he was bullied constantly in school, and when he got older, he refused to let people push him around anymore. But he was trying to leave all that behind.”
As investigators continue their manhunt for the gunman responsible, Perry’s family and loved ones are left to mourn a young life cut violently short, holding tight to the memories of the man they knew. This report was filed by Paul Lopez for News Five.