BELMOPAN, Belize, (CMC)- Belize’s police chief says cops are “looking at every possibility” including a hitman being hired to murder 30 year-old Giovanni Ramirez, the whistleblower in the high-profile case that led to the conviction and imprisonment of attorney Oscar Selgado.

Police said that Ramirez was gunned down late Thursday in his vehicle. They found the driver’s window riddled with bullet holes and the driver dead inside. Shell casings were scattered across the street. The incident occurred close to two schools and a construction site.

“We’re looking at every possibility,” Police Commissioner Chester Williams  told reporters, adding” we don’t have anything to substantiate that,” when asked if he believed that Ramirez was killed because of a hit placed on his head.

“And again, I don’t want to say nothing that would lead back to Selgado because I don’t see why Selgado would want him dead at this time. Honestly, I don’t see why but like I said before, we’re looking at every possibility,” Williams said.

Ramirez had provided crucial information to the police accusing Selgado of trying to hire him to kill a woman, who had filed a complaint against Selgado.

Ramirez’s audio recordings of their conversations mysteriously disappeared, and he never testified in court out of fear for his life. Instead, Commissioner Williams relayed Ramirez’s account, leading to Selgado’s conviction. Selgado remains in prison, awaiting an appeal.

Ramirez was back in the news last May when he was arrested and charged with gang membership.

Asked whether Ramirez was followed and ambushed, the Police Commissioner said, “it would appear that they might have been monitoring him from some time because he had left home, where he lived … and from there he went to see an attorney”.

Williams said the victim had also visited a tyre shop and was going to another venue “when he was ambushed by the two persons on the motorcycle who fired the fatal shots at him.

“At this time, we don’t have a definitive motive. I know that there are several theories out there at this time, but we cannot affirm those theories at this,” he added.

“At this time, I have been given the assurance that there’s going to be no retaliation, but I’m not going to sleep on that. I will still do what needs to be done to ensure that we stem whatever possible retaliation there may be,” Williams said.