Arnold Fabián Peralta Sosa and his wife were out buying baby clothes for their three-month-old daughter in his home town of La Ceiba, Honduras. While the details of the case are still to be resolved, Peralta was subsequently shot dead, having suffered numerous cranial injuries, in the parking lot outside the shopping mall.
Peralta had just concluded his season with C.D. Olimpia and was on holiday in the Caribbean coastal town. No suspects have been identified but a government official declared, "We won't rest until those responsible for this act are identified and detained so that they can face justice."
Authorities have ruled out robbery since Peralta's belongings were not taken from him.
Peralta had been capped 26 times by Honduras, including in seven FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The Los Catrachos player represented his country at the 2012 Olympics but missed the 2014 World Cup through injury. Peralta also captained the Honduran Under-20 team, helping his country qualify for the 2009 FIFA World Youth Championship in Egypt.
Photo: @BBCSport | Twitter
Arnold Peralta began his career with Honduran club side C.D.S. Vida before signing a four-year deal with Scottish footballing giants Rangers F.C. He played for Rangers for a year and a half, arriving in the summer of 2013 before leaving in January of 2015. He helped Rangers capture the 2013-14 Scottish League One title.
Most recently, Peralta returned to Honduras to play for C.D. Olimpia, a club based in the Honduras capital of Tegucigalpa.
Harrowingly, Peralta had complained about violence in his homeland in a tweet late last year, saying, “How difficult it is for our country with so many criminals killing every so often, as though killing was in fashion! These types of people don’t deserve to be alive.”
Honduras is plagued by gang violence and, with 90.4 homicides per 100,000 people, has one of the highest murder rates in the world.
The director of the Honduran national football federation, Osman Madrid, said, "This is a tragic death that the national sport mourns."
Peralta's former clubs, teammates and acquaintances have also expressed their sympathy through social media:
Lamentamos profundamente el fallecimiento de nuestro jugador Arnold Peralta. La familia olimpista está de luto. pic.twitter.com/FaIPtmHxov
— Club Olimpia (@CDOlimpia) December 11, 2015Rangers Football Club is deeply shocked and saddened to hear the tragic news about former player Arnold Peralta: https://t.co/kLXqwXv2cl
— Rangers FC (@RangersFC) December 11, 2015Rangers will observe a minute's silence for Peralta before its home match against Greenock Morton F.C. on Saturday.
