Midfielder Arnold Peralta of the Honduran national soccer team was shot dead in a shopping mall parking lot in La Ceiba on Thursday, his hometown on the Caribbean coast of Honduras.
The country's Ministry of Security told the local newspaper El Heraldo that Peralta had been shot by 18 bullets. No arrests have been made, and no suspects have been identified. The police ruled out robbery as a possible motive since Peralta's belongings had not been taken in the attack.
Peralta, 26, had been on holiday in his hometown during the seasonal conclusion of his professional club, according to Fox Sports.
International soccer clubs and former teammates have been expressing their sympathies and paying their respects on social media. Osman Madrid, director of the national football federation in Honduras, said, "This is a tragic death the national sport mourns."
Honduras has one of the highest homicide rates in the world, according to the BBC. Peralta had lamented the gang violence in his country in a tweet last year. He wrote, "How difficult in our country with so many criminals killing so often, as though killing is a fashion! These types of people don't deserve to be alive."
Peralta's career started with the Honduran club Vida, where he shone as a central midfielder and was soon picked up by the Rangers, a Scottish club. He had just returned to Honduras to play for the national team and for C.D Olimpia, a club based in the country's capital of Tegucigalpa.
Peralta won 24 caps for Honduras and played in both the 2012 London Olympics and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. He had been scheduled to play in the national team's friendly match against Cuba next week.
