Man Shot Dead After Mother’s Day Event in Trial Farm

A celebration meant to honor mothers turned into a scene of heartbreak in Orange Walk. Late Sunday night in Trial Farm, gunfire shattered the moment, leaving twenty-two-year-old Roberto Wicab dead, just steps away from a community basketball court. Police say he was fixing a flat tire with his girlfriend when he was targeted. Another man was also injured in the attack. Now, the community is mourning and searching for answers. Zenida Lanza has more.

 

Zenida Lanza, Reporting

“Just behind me is a basketball court where the trial farm village council was holding a Mother’s Day function. That even wrapped up around 7:30 pm. Roberto Wiab and his girlfriend walked to this empty lot, where they noticed his car had a flat tire. They were attempting to fix that tire when two men drove up on a motorcycle. One opened fire.”

 

ASP Stacy Smith, Staff Officer

“Police are seeking two male persons in connection with a shooting incident that resulted in the murder of 22-year-old Roberto Wicab and the injury of Adrian Chuc. May 10th, when police in Trial Farm were alerted to the sounds of shots being fired in the vicinity of a basketball court on the northern side of that village. The officers responded, and they were advised that Wicab and Chuc were ferried to the hospital for medical attention.”

 

That hospital was less than a three-minute ride down the road. But even with the speed at which his loved ones moved him, Wicab was pronounced dead while receiving treatment at the hospital. Wicab’s girlfriend, Rita Aldana, was standing a few steps from him when the shots rang out.

 

On the Phone: Rita Aldana, Common-law

“It happened very quickly. I didn’t realize, I didn’t see. In just a minute everything happened. I only saw some young men, but I couldn’t see their faces. It was fast—that’s what happened.”

 

ASP Stacy Smith

“What the investigation has so far revealed is that Wicab and a companion were fixing a vehicle in that location when they were accosted by a male person who fired several shots, and Mr. Chuc was passing at that time, and he too was injured.”

 

Police are still working to establish a motive. Aldana says she had no knowledge of Wicab having any enemies. She says after losing her father, the two began attending church together and that experience changed him.

 

On the Phone: Rita Aldana

“Well, he wasn’t a saint—he had his mistakes. But about five years ago, when I started living with him, his life changed completely. He became a responsible man. He took care of children that weren’t even his. He behaved well. I can’t speak badly of him. He tried to do good, and he was respected in the community.”

 

Roberto Wicab was twenty-two years old. His death was one of three murders recorded across Belize over the Mother’s Day weekend. Reporting for News Five, I am Zenida Lanza.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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