Man shot to death in Port Loyola

It’s a story we’ve had to tell too many times this year: shot at close range; rushed to the K.H.M.H.; died while undergoing treatment; police seeking suspects… Yet another victim has succumbed to gunshot injuries in Belize City, this latest incident unfolding in the Port Loyola area of Belize City around ten-thirty Sunday night. News 5’s Jacqueline Woods reports.

Jacqueline Woods, Reporting

Forty year old Robert Anthony Flowers was riding his bike home through this alley after buying at a nearby grocery shop, when witnesses say he was accosted by two young men, one of whom shot Flowers at close range in the chest. A blood trail that leads away from the crime scene suggests Flowers tried to run away, but he collapsed along the way.

G. Michael Reid, Police Press Officer

“It is of major concern within the Police Department and we are doing everything we can to impress upon the community the need to get involved and to assist us in our investigations.”

The dead man’s family would not talk to News 5 on camera telling us that they have already been receiving threats. The Flowers family says do not know why anyone would want their loved one dead, but they suspect two previous incidents may have led to the killing.

Jacqueline Woods

“The family says two months ago Robert Flowers exchanged cash with a young man and received a counterfeit U.S. one hundred dollar bill. Since then, he has been trying to get back his money, but to no avail. Flowers’ family also claims that he had a disagreement with another young man following a theft at their home.”

But Belize City police say they do not have a motive for the shooting and are appealing to anyone who may have information to please call the Crime Stoppers hotline number 922.

G. Michael Reid

“There is a need for the community to be involved; there is a need for people to volunteer the information that they know. That is why we established the 922 line that there is no caller I.D., there?s no way people can know who it is, but we at least have some leads to follow. We need to stop it at some point and take our streets back.”

Jacqueline Woods reporting for News 5.

Police have since detained a number of persons including one young man they believe to be the prime suspect.