Gary Paul Swank, an internal medicine professor at Virginia Tech, has been identified as one of the victims in a bloody massacre that took place in Belize recently.
Nine people in total have been reported dead after the event, and there has been much speculation about the current internal state of the country.
Many are worried that the situation might deteriorate even further, and the overall safety of locals has been under a major question mark for a while now.
Swank was reportedly killed along with several others in a short time.
He was caught together with his tour guide — Mario Nestle Graniel Jr. — soon after another group of fishermen were killed in the area.
So far, no motives or suspects have been identified, making the situation very suspicious for some.
There has been additional difficulty in investigating the case, to begin with, further adding to the complication of the situation.
According to reports, however, the killings were carried out in a very organized manner, and there was reason to believe that they were specifically targeted.
Specific details about some of the incidents might indeed indicate that there was something more going on, such as the fact that one of the victims was shot multiple times, far beyond what is necessary to kill him in the first place.
Information has been coming out slowly, and with various, conflicting details, so it will likely take a while until observers find out the truth about what happened to Swank and the others who were killed.
The leader of the People’s United Party, from the opposition, Johnny Briceño, stated: “We are fed up of the press conferences and constant claims that show crime is decreasing. The many Belizeans who are assaulted and the many businesspersons who are held at gunpoint, beaten and their establishment are robbed are a persistent reminder that crime continues to rise.”
He added: “So far, six months into 2019, there are 70 murders and that is not counting those people still missing … and those whose remains have yet to be identified. Crime is an issue which should never be made political; it’s a problem that requires all sectors of society to fight it together.”
Pirates are being blamed for these violent incidents and a manhunt is underway.
