But why was this family targeted? They'd only been living in Belize for a short time - so what could have triggered such a ruthless attack? Courtney Menzies traveled west to find out. Here is that story.

The Belmopan Market Plaza erupted into chaos yesterday after gunshots rang out in the middle of the afternoon. The crowd scrambled to rush the four injured persons to the hospital, but for 44-year-old Laura Fiorito and 8-year-old Megan Klassen, it was too late.

Fiorito was with her husband, Salvatore Lopes, and their two children, 11-year-old Sarah and 7-year-old Tristan, as well as Klassen, who was their neighbor's daughter. The couple had just picked up the kids from school in Belmopan and decided to go get ice cream from the market.

It was supposed to be a normal afternoon, but it all changed when they met up with a man they considered to be a friend.

Ronaldo Logan, Co-Manager, Paradise Cafe
"Yesterday I was sitting, drinking coffee in the evening like what I usually do, and the guy that did the shooting passed bye and I called him, I said how's the hotel? He said, good, good, and he just walked away. But the couple was sitting over there on the table and they got up, shook hands, they sat down, regular conversation. The guy asked them, you started to build yet? The man told him, no, we haven't started to build yet. They didn't even raise their voice, they didn't even give any warning that they would do something like that."

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"The accused person arrived at the market, had a discussion with the the family who had been targeted, where he was accusing them of attempting to poison him. We have also learned that the victims had rented a house as the accused do owns an Airbnb rental and the victim had rented a house from him for a period of six months. They left that house, I think, in the month of January and the move to Agua Viva area so he was saying that the time that they rented from him that they were trying to poison him and that is the reason why he had gone out there to target them yesterday."

The Lopes family first visited Belize about two years ago, and they fell in love with the country. Last year, they moved to Cayo from the Netherlands.

But those who knew them said that they were a friendly family - not one that would deliberately hurt another person.

And Klassen's uncle emphasized that nothing could justify targeting an innocent child.

Johan Petkau, Uncle of Deceased
"I cannot say anything about what type of relationship they have, if it's true or not, I could say anything I want, anybody can make up stories saying they poisoned them but it doesn't give them the right to kill someone or to kill innocent children because probably they ate something and he felt bad, that doesn't make any sense to me."

"I do not know this family very well, I have met them a couple of times and to my knowledge they were a very friendly family and even they themselves said the man that shot was their friend so I have, in my opinion, I do not understand why this has happened."

"It's a terrible thing, that's what's going through your mind, it's a terrible thing that a child got shot in the marketplace in front of a bunch of people. It's shocking."

Shocking, not just because it happened in a public area, but also because the Belmopan Market has always been a safe space for vendors and shoppers. The co-manager of Paradise Cafe, where the incident took place, explained that it happened in seconds - one moment the gunman was standing with his son, the next, the son had disappeared and he began shooting after the couple. Once Fioreto was hit, he reportedly chased after the children, who ran from the playground into the parking lot, stood over them and deliberately shot them.

Ronaldo Logan explained he did everything he could to help.

Ronaldo Logan, Co-Manager, Paradise Cafe
"After I heard the gunshots, I realized I had northing on me and I went to see what I can do and the guy, after he shot here, he went to chase after the kids in the playground and while we're exchanging words, I'm trying to tell the guy, hold it down, you already did foolishness, I was cursing a lot. I told him you already did fool, why did you come and do this at this establishment? I told him, you really messed up a good business that me and my business partner are trying to keep open."

"When he was kneeling down before I stamped him down, the guy was actually patting his belly and saying, they poisoned me, they poisoned me and after we pinned him down along with the police officer, the guy said, kill me please, kill me. He was begging for us to take him out but it's not our place."

"What that guy came to do, he came here to do it, I guess if he had found those people anywhere, it could have been a school, it could have been church, he came with that but like I said, he didn't give any warning of what he came to do."

And no history of violence - the Haitian national, 59 year old Robert Joseph has been a licensed gun holder from 2012.

But the ComPol says there's no need to worry about the possibility of frequent mass shootings - since he doesn't classify this incident as one - and assured residents that the suspect will be convicted.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"It's not a mass shooting. It's a rather unfortunate incident. I must say that when I looked at the video, it irks me because if it is that you had an issue with the parents, if you were saying that the parents were trying to find you, then why do go after the children?"

Reporter:
"So you believe that a conviction should be in order?"

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"Certainly we do."

We note that the FBI's definition of a mass shooting is, quote, "an event in which one or more individuals are 'actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area. Implicit in this definition is the shooter's use of a firearm."

Both Joseph and his 22-year-old son have been detained by police.

Sarah and Tristan Lopes are both in a stable condition at the Western Regional Hospital.