Photo: Elder Arana, deceased
by Charles Gladden
BELIZE DISTRICT, Tues. Mar. 7, 2023
Near the end of last week—within a span of just three or four days—there were two brutal attacks that left two men dead. The horrific attack of BEL employee Brian Perez, 38 (a father of five), and members of his family was the first of the two incidents, and for many Belizeans, what took place was the stuff of nightmares. According to reports, on Thursday night, March 2, at around 8:00 p.m., Perez, his wife, mother, sister, and children were returning to their home on Gill Street after purchasing groceries when Perez’s mother and sister, who were the first to arrive at the house while Perez was parking the family’s car, encountered two men at the home and were assaulted with a metal pipe.
Regarding those initial moments of terror in the home , Perez’s mother, Leticia Magaña, told a 7News reporter, “Brian was outside; he was parking the car, and so I, um, I screamed for him to help me, right, and then the guy hit me with a metal pipe, on my head. And, I just fell something pouring, but I didn’t even feel the hit right … and I ran inside, because he ran inside also and my daughter-in-law, my daughter and the baby four months old, and the four-year-old little girl, they were inside and, as I went inside to try to stop him. My daughter came running to me, Alyssa, and he lifted up the thing to hit my daughter, and I put up my hand to try to stop him, and he still hit her and she fell on the sofa.”
When Perez entered the home and found that the lives of his family members were in jeopardy, he began to struggle with one of the men and was shot once in the head at point-blank range by that man’s accomplice, who was armed with a gun and forced his way into the home.
He was rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital and remained in a critical condition until the following morning; however, he passed away from his injuries early Friday morning.
It has been reported that, following the shooting, Perez’s assailants fled the scene in the direction of Ross Pen Road.
The Communications Director for the Belize Police Department, ASP Fitzroy Yearwood, told local reporters that police are still investigating the matter but that they had not yet identified any suspects, and had no leads at that point.
“Every life lost is a major incident for us, and we treat it in that manner. We are investigating Mr. Perez’s unfortunate demise, and as soon as I have any new information to share on that investigation it will be shared with you,” he noted at a police press briefing.
Just a few days later on Sunday, March 5, another man, Elder Arana, 29, of San Pedro Town, also lost his life during a brutal attack. Arana was stabbed to death outside of Jeemar’s Night Club in the San Pedrito area of San Pedro.
It has been reported that around 1:40 a.m. that Sunday, Alvaro Tun, 32, who is also a resident of San Pedro Town, got into a dispute with Arana and began to choke him inside the establishment. The brawl progressed from inside the establishment to the street outside, where Tun stabbed Arana in his chest, abdomen, and back.
When police arrived at the scene, they pursued Tun and three other men who were with him—two teenage minors and a 22-year-old. They attempted to flee the scene, but they were quickly apprehended by police, who recovered a broken pool stick at the scene.
Arana was taken to the San Pedro Polyclinic, but he succumbed to his injuries at 2:00 a.m. while receiving medical treatment.
On Tuesday, March 7, Tun was arraigned at the Magistrate Court in San Pedro Town, where he was charged with murder.