Police from Orange Walk are investigating the murder of 21 year-old Alberto Vargas Jr., a resident of the town who was gunned down on the night of Tuesday, July 10, 2018.
At this time, there is a bit of confusion as to the sequence of events that led to Vargas’ killing. Some time after 8 p.m. on Tuesday, July 10, the cops found him at the Northern Regional Hospital. By that time, he had already passed away, and the cops observed several gunshot wounds to the left side of the neck.
One version of events are that he was on the Belize Corozal Road near Landy’s Hardware store. He was reportedly seated in a vehicle waiting for food he purchased from one of the street vendors, when a man, who was in the vehicle with him, pulled out a weapon and shot him twice from the backseat. Reports are that the police found 2 expended shells on the scene, 1 slug on the dashboard of the vehicle, and 4 more expended shells in the rear passenger seat. If accurate, that report lends credibility to this version of events.
An alternate account of Vargas’ shooting is that he arrived in a vehicle with his friend, and that his assailant was eating food at one of the food vendors. That shooter allegedly spotted him, and then attacked before Vargas could react.
Still, another account is at around 7:30 p.m., Vargas allegedly received a phone call to meet a man at the location where he was shot. He was with his friend, and they allegedly went to the location to meet with the caller, and it was out on that trip that he was killed.
One final account suggests that eyewitnesses saw the shooter walking toward the vehicle Vargas was in, and those around the area heard the sound of gunshots. That allegedly made bystanders panic, and everybody reportedly threw themselves to the ground to avoid being injured by stray bullets. The man believed to be the shooter was allegedly seen running away.
Vargas’ friend rushed him to the Northern Regional Hospital but less than 10 minutes after he was shot, he passed away, and there was nothing that the attending physicians could do to save his life.
His family has declined to give any comments to the press.
