Virginia high school student gunned down in Honduras

Less than two weeks ago, Jimmy Gerardo Portillo Oliva, 18, who attended Heritage High School in Leesburg was shot to death in Honduras. He had returned to his native country to fulfill his visa requirements.

Oliva, along with several friends were returning from home when he was shot by four masked men. None of the gunmen have been caught.

Four others, including Oliva’s cousin, William Alexander Oliva Cortez, 16, were also killed.

Oliva’s mother and stepfather, traveled from Leesburg to Honduras for their son’s funeral.

“This is just an awful, very sad incident,” said Heritage principal Margaret Huckaby.

Heritage High School principal Margaret Huckaby told the Loudoun-Times Mirror: “Jimmy was a great kid. He was a good student and he played on our JV soccer team last year. He was an all-around great young man.”

Huckaby was in the United States as a legal resident, and returned to Honduras after turning 18, to obtain his own visa. He had been in the Central American nation for two months when he was murdered.

Huckaby said: “He was following the rules. He was doing things the way they are supposed to be done.”

The Honduran newspaper La Prensa, reported that local police believe the gunmen were targeting the survivor of another massacre four months earlier. It was apparently a case of mistaken identity.

Choloma, where Oliva was killed, has become overrun with violence from organized crime.

Honduras is home to the notoriously violent street gang, known as MS-13. The gang engages in kidnapping, drug distribution, and murder-for-hire.

Powered By iWebRSS.comparticipate in immigration news polls