Murder/suicide leaves two dead in Cotton Tree
A midday murder/suicide in Cotton Tree Village has left two dead and two others fighting for their lives. According to police, just before noon today, forty-eight year old Orlando Figueroa and his fourteen year old daughter Daisy, had just gotten off a bus near this house when they were approached by thirty-nine year Anthony Quiroz. Quiroz was carrying a gun and shot both of them right in front of the bus. Figueroa was hit in his chest while the young girl was shot in her head and left hand. Twenty-two year old Rene Coc, the bus conductor standing nearby, was also hit in the back of his head and right leg. A police officer travelling on the bus at the time jumped out and followed Quiroz back to his house. The gunman went into the backyard and before he could be apprehended, turned the gun on himself, suffering fatal head injuries. The three injured people were rushed to the Belmopan hospital for treatment, where the elder Figueroa died this afternoon. According to hospital authorities, Daisy Figueroa is listed as critical, while Rene Coc is in serious condition. News 5 understands that the motive for the shootings is that Quiroz wanted to become romantically involved with the young girl and became enraged when her father told him he would not allow that to happen.