VA Doctor Gary Swank Shot Dead While Visiting Belize With Family

ROANOKE, VA. (THECOUNT) — Gary Swank, a beloved Virginia doctor, was gunned down along with his tour guide while vacationing with family members in Belize, according to local authorities.

Swank was visiting the Central American country and had been traveling on a fishing boat with local guide Mario Graniel, when they were both shot dead, Belize officials said on Monday.

Belize officials say, the tour guide had a disagreement with a local gang kingpin, and agrees that Swank was a “victim of circumstance.”

Graniel had earlier reported to police that someone fired shots at his home on Friday, but he never filed a formal complaint, an official said.

“We maintain police presence in the area to protect him and the community from further shootings but we can’t follow the man everywhere he goes,” the official said. “He decided to go out with a tourist.”

“We did what we could have done in terms of detaining those who we believe were responsible and maintaining presence in the area where he lived.”

Swank was the medical director of Carilion Clinic cardiac catheterization lab and an associate professor of internal medicine at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, according to a statement from the clinic. The school is in Roanoke, Virginia, about 170 miles west of Richmond, reports NewsChannel5.

“Dr. Swank was a well-respected and well-loved colleague who, each and every day, embodied the values that we hold dear,” the statement reads. “His absence leaves a void in our team and in our community.”

DEVELOPING::

Geo quick facts: Belize is a nation on the eastern coast of Central America, with Caribbean Sea shorelines to the east and dense jungle to the west. Offshore, the massive Belize Barrier Reef, dotted with hundreds of low-lying islands called cayes, hosts rich marine life. Belize’s jungle areas are home to Mayan ruins like Caracol, renowned for its towering pyramid; lagoon-side Lamanai; and Altun Ha, just outside Belize City – wikipedia.