Camalote Man Gunned Down Inside Mother’s Bedroom

A peaceful night in Camalote Village was shattered by gunfire on Friday, leaving a family devastated and a community in shock. Twenty-one-year-old Travis Swift was gunned down inside his mother’s bedroom, his life cut short in a hail of bullets. Over two dozen shell casings were recovered from the scene, and the bedroom wall still bears the scars of the violence. Police say Swift was the intended target. But the big question tonight is—why? Described by many as peaceful and well-mannered, Travis is now the second son Rosita Orellana has lost to gun violence in just seven years. It’s a heartbreaking story of loss, fear, and unanswered questions. Paul Lopez has more from Camalote.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Just minutes after twenty-one-year-old Travis Swift arrived home in Camalote Village, a gunman opened fire through a bedroom window. Swift was shot and killed at the foot of his mother’s bed. At the time, only he and his younger brother were home. Their mother, Rosita Orellana, was out that Friday night.

 

Rosita Orellana, Mother of Deceased

“And that is where they killed him in my room.”

 

In a terrifying moment that could have claimed two lives, Travis Swift’s younger brother tried to intervene as gunshots rang out inside their home. But the gunman wasn’t done, he turned his weapon on the young boy. Miraculously, Swift’s brother escaped without injury.

 

Rosita Orellana

“The younger brother was sitting in the hall, he shouted for him. But my younger son thought it was pop shots. When he shouted for my son, he went in the room and they shot at him too. My son said he was not afraid, he was there to help his brother. They shot so many shots at my other son. But they did not my other son.”

 

Rosita Orellana says the scene inside her home was like something out of a war zone. Investigators counted up to thirty spent shells scattered across the bedroom floor. The glass windows were shattered. The frame was riddled with bullet holes. And the wall directly across from the window? It’s peppered with marks from the barrage of gunfire. Police say Travis Swift had just come back from a quick run to a nearby store when the gunman struck. He barely had time to settle in before his life was taken in a hail of bullets.

 

ASP Stacy Smith, Staff Officer

“And shortly after he returned, it is believed that an unknown individual entered the residence and fired multiple shots fatally injuring Swift. Police are currently seeking two male persons who they believe can assist with this investigation.”

 

Reporter

“Any motive?”

 

ASP Stacy Smith

“No motive has been ascertained so far.”

 

Reporter

“Is he known to the police?”

 

ASP Stacy Smith

“He is not known to the police.”

 

Investigators have identified two suspects, both from Camalote Village, and confirmed that Swift was the intended target. For his mother, Rosita Orellana, the pain is all too familiar. In 2018, she lost another son, twenty-two-year-old Oswald Arnold, whose body was found along the Belize River after he’d been missing for six months. Today, an urn with Oswald’s ashes sits in the family’s dining room, a heartbreaking reminder of the violence that’s struck her family twice.

 

Rosita Orellana

“I lose a son, seven years ago, and still no justice. I would want justice for Travis because he really did not deserve it. Why they target Travis, only God knows. Only God knows, because he is not someone that give trouble. Whosoever, if it is one or two, we are not sure. We don’t know what side they came from and what is the reason they did this and why they chance Travis out of his life, why. You all are some cowards, because you did not have to do my son that. And I the ask unu the question, why Travis out of all people that did not bother anybody.”

 

Travis Swift graduated from the Baptist High School two years ago. Up to the time of his death he assisted his mother in operating a small business she runs. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.