Mother, 43, and her 11-year-old daughter are shot dead and the girl's brother wounded when gunman opens fire on them as they ate ice cream at a market in Belize

A tourist mother and her young daughter have been shot dead when a gunman opened fire on them as they were eating ice cream at a market in Belize.

The Dutch woman, 43, and her 11-year-old daughter died of their injuries, while the girl's brother, 8, was wounded in the attack.

The woman and her children were eating ice cream at a market in Belmopan, in the centre of the South American country, when they were attacked on Tuesday.

A gunman entered the market square and targeted the woman and her children, shouting that he wanted to 'teach them a lesson', according to Dutch outlet De Telegraaf. 

One eyewitness said that the woman and her children tried to flee when they spotted the man, who threw away his gun after shooting the three victims. 

A tourist mother and her young daughter have been shot dead when a gunman opened fire on them as they were eating ice cream at a market in Belize. The Dutch woman, 43, and her 11-year-old daughter died of their injuries, while the girl's brother, 8, was wounded in the attack (file image)

According to local channel PlusTV, the shooter was the owner of a rented flat where the family was staying. 

The man, 60, has since been arrested by local police.

Videos posted on social media showed the 43-year-old mother and her daughter lying in the back of a truck as well as the little boy, who screamed in pain due to the bullet wound. 

Assistant police commissioner Suzette Anderson said that the family was from the Netherlands but had been living in Belize. 

About the shooter she told local media: 'The shooter was living in Belize and he seemed to be the owner of a resort which is within the Belmopan area.

'He was subsequently detained by the police and the firearm, which was a 9mm pistol, was also retrieved [...]. He's currently in our custody. 

'At this point in time we are still trying to piece together what exactly transpired, what may have been the motive behind the shooting.'