Arnold Peralta, an international Honduran futbol player was shot dead while on vacation in his hometown of La Ceiba.

He was killed in the parking lot of a mall in the country's Caribbean coast. Until now, the authorities have no motive for the attack.

"This is terrible," his father Carlos said in a news conference. "They killed my exemplary son. I can't say more because of the pain I feel."

Honduras has one of the highest murder rates in the world and is afflicted with gang violence.

In a tweet reported by BBC Sport, last year the 26 year-old Peralta spoke out about the violence plaguing Honduras.

He tweeted: "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."

BBC Sport continued to say that Peralta, a midfielder for Olimpia, in the capital Tegucigalpa also played for Scottish giants Rangers until January.

The Public Ministry told the local El Heraldo newspaper that Peralta had been hit by 18 bullets.

The Rangers will hold a minute of silence before their game on Saturday, Peralta's former club said in a statement on their website.

"The players will also wear black armbands in his honor," it added.

Peralta represented Honduras in the 2012 Olympic Games and he joined the Rangers in 2013, helping them win the 2013-14 Scottish League One title according to Honduran futbol website diez.

The Director of the Honduran Football Federation, Osman Madrid was quoted as saying that it is a "tragic death that the national sport mourns".

No arrests have been made. And it has been reported that the police ruled out robbery as a possible motive because Peralta had not had any of his belongings taken.