A shooting on Tuesday afternoon in the capital has left surrounding communities reeling and the whole nation of Belize in shock at the absolutely senseless and cold-blooded targeting of a family who were enjoying ice cream near the market square. According to multiple sources, a couple from Agua Viva, a rural community a few miles away from Belmopan which is composed of ex-Mennonites, practicing Mennonites and various immigrants from Europe, were at the marketplace in Belmopan. Along with the couple and their two children was a little girl, the daughter of a friend from the same community. The gunman and his grown son walked up to the family, greeted them, then suddenly the perpetrator pulled out a gun and fired at the father but missed while the mother and three children were pursued by the gunman who continued firing at them, killing the woman and little girl and injuring the couple’s two children. The gunman is currently in police custody.
The woman, Laura Fiorito was from the Netherlands while the little girl, Megan Petkau (Klassen), was a Belizean. Laura's two children are currently in the hospital; one was shot in the arm and the other in the hip. The gunman is said to be of Haitian origin, retired from the Canadian military. He claimed Laura Fiotto and her partner had tried to poison him during their stay at his Airbnb in the past and minutes before murdering her called out that he was there to “teach them a lesson”.
