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The senseless killing of this productive community member is the source of great pain for Ladyville residents. Our news team went looking for answers in the village today, and Daniel Ortiz has that story.

Micah Goodin - Nephew of the Deceased
"He is somebody that we all respected and admired. This is a man who built himself up from nothing by hard work, by sacrifice."

Monique Alarcon - Sister-in-law of the Deceased
"I just want justice for him. He helps everybody. He was a good father, a good husband to my sister. I don't know why somebody took his life."

Bernardo Bennett - Chairman, Ladyville Village Council
"I basically was at a loss for words. I was in disbelief because this guy; he was like you could say, a beacon of light in our community."

Micah Goodin
"My uncle was a positive member of this community. He was a role model. He always did his best to help others. He always uplifted others. He was a humorous guy, always jovial, cool-spirited, humble, hard-working… It's people like him we want in our communities."

But last night, 38-year-old Oren Velasquez was forcibly taken away from his loved ones and his community by armed robbers who gunned him down without any regard for the pain they would cause. He and his 14-year-old son were closing up his pizza shop, known as Breda O's Pizza when the thieves attacked.

Micah Goodin
"From what we have gathered, he and his son were closing the shop, or just about the close the shop when two persons scaled the fence, and the rest is history."

"They managed to get away with proceeds from the day's sale. They were about to - they wanted to kill both my uncle and his son, but, my uncle put a fight. That was how my cousin was able to able to escape, or it would have been a double murder last night."

Most people know Velasquez from his love of sports. In fact, here at 7News, we encountered him back in February 2013, as one of the new generations of boxers who as attempting to restore the prominence of the sport in modern Belizean culture.

But, he was known in Ladyville as one of the adults who used sports as an outreach initiative for youths, in the hopes of keeping them away from a life of crime.

Bernardo Bennett
"He contributed a lot to the community. He helped a lot with the youths and sports. I remember I worked with him with respect to putting some sand in the Janessa Jones Park. So, he has been contributing a lot to the community, through jobs, and through assistance generally."

But, about 4 years ago, Velasquez and his wife opened their Pizza shop, right in his family yard in Ladyville. The self-made businessman and his wife then slowly began growing their customer base.

Bernardo Bennett
"For a guy who started off as poor - as a poor black guy, and he put all his resources together along with his wife, Emelda, and they opened up this Breda O's Pizza. They were working and growing good."

For his loved ones, the fact that armed robbers murdered him, just so that they could get access to $200, the proceeds of the day's sales, is particularly painful. That's because Velasquez was kind to his customers and even gave unplanned discounts, as an act of compassion.

Monique Alarcon - Sister-in-law of the Deceased
"I work with my brother-in-law in the shop. When people come here and don't have any money, or whatever, or they're short, Mon., give it to them. We aren't watching out in return. We don't even care if they don't bring back any money."

"I just want justice for my brother-in-law. That's all, and we will keep the faith, and we'll stay strong. And I know we will know who killed my brother in law. We will stay strong, and we will pray. That's all we can do right now because we can't bring back my brother-in-law."

Velasquez leaves behind his wife; his 14-years-old son, whose life he saved from the armed robbers; and his 10-year-old daughter.

His family says that he was getting ready to make another infrastructure upgrade to his business. He was preparing to open a restaurant.

They believe that the armed robbers gained entry into their yard by jumping the fence at the back of the house.