Honduran international footballer Arnold Peralta was shot dead on Friday, when he was in the car park of a shopping centre in La Ceiba, on the country’s Caribbean coast. The motive of the murder is yet to be investigated, and no arrests have been made.
Honduras is known to be the world’s murder capital, and the death of Arnold Peralta is an example of the country’s umpteenth violent act this year.
Family in tears
The 26-year-old midfielder for Olimpia, in the capital Tegucigalpa, played for Scottish giants Rangers until January. Inevitably, his family seemed crushed after Arnold’s parents lost their only son.
“This is terrible,” his father Carlos told a news conference. “They killed my exemplary son. I can’t say more because of the pain I feel.”
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Football Federation mourn
Arnold represented Honduras at the 2012 Olympic Games in London but missed the 2014 Brazil World Cup through injury. The Honduras Football Federation showed their respect in a statement saying it was a “tragic death that the national sport mourns”.
There will be a minute’s silence held before Rangers’ game against Morton on Saturday, Arnold’s former club said in a statement on their official website, as reported by BBC.