Honduran international murdered in shopping centre

Honduran international midfielder Arnold Peralta has been brutally gunned down in a drive-by shooting in his hometown of La Ceiba.

Peralta, who played for Scottish giants Glasgow Rangers last season, had returned to Honduras and was currently playing for Olimpia.

Local police claim Peralta was shot up to 18 times in the attack, in which Peralta had been out shopping with his wife, and that the shots had been fired from a moving vehicle, either car or motorcycle.

Honduras has a painful history of gang violence, and the murder rate in Honduras is one of the highest in the world. He had spoken out critically against the situation during his time in Scotland.

Last year he posted a tweet saying, “How hard our country with so many criminals killing each time, as is fashionable to kill! Such people do not deserve to be alive”.

His murder has caused shockwaves in both his native Honduras as well as in the Glasgow, where former teammates posted condolence tweets.

The club have announced that they are “deeply shocked and saddened by the news” and they will hold a minute’s silence ahead of the league game at Morton on Saturday.