LAGOS DECEMBER12TH (URHOBOTODAY)-Arnold Peralta, a Honduran soccer player, was shot dead while on vacation in his hometown on Thursday. He was killed in the parking lot of the Uniplaza mall in La Ceiba, a northern port city. It is not yet clear why Peralta was targeted and police are yet to make an arrest.
The 26-year-old midfielder played for the renowned Scottish soccer team Rangers F.C. until January 2015, the BBC reports. He then moved to the Honduran team Club Olimpia Deportivo, known as Olimpia, which is based in the country’s capital Tegucigalpa. Peralta was in La Ceiba following the conclusion of his club’s season, the Guardian reports.
The club’s official Twitter account expressed deep sadness at the news of Peralta’s death. In a tweet written in Spanish, the team added: “The Olimpian family mourns.” Osman Madrid, director of the country’s football federation, called the killing tragic, adding that “the national sport mourns.”
Though police haven’t established a motive, they have ruled out robbery since none of Peralta’s belongings were taken. Honduras, which has one of the world’s highest homicide rates, struggles with deep-rooted problems of gang violence.
Peralta represented his country at London’s Olympic Games in 2012, but was unable to play in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil due to injury. His next match was due to be a friendly against Cuba on December 16. No news yet on whether the match will go ahead.