Shopkeeper shots assailant in foot

In crime news, a Belize City man has been shot after allegedly threatening a shopkeeper with a machete. According to police, forty-four year old businessman Mario Ayuso was inside his establishment, Aisha’s Supermarket in Kings Park, when a young man he recognized walked into the building around eight on Friday night and begged for cigarettes. The man, identified as twenty-four year old Andrew Smith, was told that he would no longer be receiving free cigarettes. According to Ayuso, Smith became angry and threatened that he would return and do harm. A short time later Ayuso reported to police that Smith returned, this time armed with machete in hand. Ayuso says that, fearing for his life, he pulled out his licensed nine-millimetre pistol and fired one shot. The bullet caught Smith in his right ankle. He was hospitalized and immediately placed under police guard. This morning Smith was discharged from the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital and taken into custody. He has been charged with aggravated assault.