Coast Guard’s Daniel Arzu is Back; How is He Doing?
Daniel Arzu Jr.
After receiving treatment in Mexico for a month, Coastguard Petty Officer Daniel Arzu Junior returned to Belize today via a Mexican military aircraft. Arzu Junior was shot to the head when he was visiting his child at an apartment on Neal Penn Road in Belize City. Both his family and the coastguard believe that he will be back to work after his full recovery. News Five’s Duane Moody was at the Phillip Goldson International Airport when Arzu Junior’s plane touched down.
Duane Moody, Reporting
Twenty-eight-year-old Daniel Arzu Junior returned to Belize this morning via a Mexican military jet that landed at the P.G.I.A. sometime around ten-thirty a.m. Arzu Junior, a petty officer of the Belize National Coast Guard and son of a senior police commander, was flown to the Mexican Naval base for medical attention after he was shot once to the head on the evening of October twenty-fifth. He had been in an induced coma at the K.H.M.H. for two days before he was airlifted to Mexico. His father, Superintendent Daniel Arzu, waited patiently outside at the P.G.I.A. as his son was taken out of the Mexican aircraft and into a waiting ambulance.
Daniel Arzu
Supt. Daniel Arzu, Father of Shooting Victim
“It was indeed a tragic incident, but today I am certainly happy that my son is coming back and he is coming back well. You know he left the country in an unconscious state. It was an induced coma, but today he is coming back full of his memory and we are hoping that the process of therapy will be continued here and that itself will put him in a better situation than how he actually was.”
The shooting took place on Neal Penn Road at Pinky’s Apartment complex. Just minutes after Arzu Junior arrived at the complex to visit his child’s mother; a man walked inside the apartment and fired at least three to four shots. While there were other persons inside, Arzu Junior was the only one that got hit and it is believed that he was the intended target. No one has been arrested so far for the attempt on the life of Petty Officer Arzu, but according to his father, he knows his shooter.
Supt. Daniel Arzu
“I’m saying again to the perpetrator—I’ve said it some time ago—that my son has his memory. He clearly recalls what transpired. He knows the perpetrator; he will point you out. It is a matter of time. I am not worried about you today because my son is first and foremost; he is priority. And as soon as he is one hundred percent, I am saying to you perpetrator; the law is coming at you and you will be pointed out and you will pay the price.”
According to Superintendent Arzu and Coastguard Commander John Borland, Petty Officer Arzu is ready to get back to work, but not before some weeks of therapy here in Belize.
John Borland
John Borland, Commander, BNCG [File: November 25th, 2016]
“I’ve spoke with him; I’ve spoken with his family and they are extremely grateful—not only to the coastguard, but to our Mexican counterparts. You know his mom is over there with him; his dad has visited on more than one occasion and they have taken real good care of them. So they are really grateful for the level of support that they have gotten from us and of course through our partnership with our Mexican counterparts. He is in great spirits; he looks forward to returning to Belize to continue his recovery and rehabilitation process and to return back to work as a member of the coastguard.”
Supt. Daniel Arzu
“The youth is very motivated; he is focused, he knows exactly what he wants. He understands what really transpired and he is taking it one day at a time in preparing for his return to go back and engage in his actual duties. So today, you yourself will see his condition versus his departure from here and like I said, we are all enthused and we are hopeful that he is going to be of the best with time.”
Duane Moody for News Five.
