Tourist shot in head during robbery attempt

An early morning attack on Eve Street has left a tourist suffering from a gunshot wound to the head and the criminal on the loose. Twenty-one year old Scott Williams and his friend, twenty-one year old Justin Lannan, visitors to Belize from Texas, have reported to police that around 2:00 this morning, they were walking on Eve Street towards their hotel, Downtown Guest House, when a man on a bicycle rode up to them. According to the young men, he demanded money and when they refused, he pulled out a handgun and fired a shot to the ground. The bullet ricocheted off the asphalt and grazed Williams’ forehead. When he realised his friend had been shot, Lannan grabbed the gun and wrestled it away from the attacker. The assailant then decided to make his getaway and took off down the street on his bicycle, leaving the nine-millimetre pistol behind. Williams was rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital where his injuries were classified as grievous harm. Hospital officials tell us the young man was discharged earlier today. At news time tonight, no one had been arrested in connection with this incident. This is the second time this week police have received reports of a violent attack in Belize City. On Tuesday, a couple walking towards the Market Square via Regent Street around 10:00 p.m. was brutally beaten with a piece of galvanised pipe after they refused to give a man on bicycle money. The woman identified as Tomasa Nah, remains admitted to ward at the K.H.M.H. receiving treatment for a fractured skull. Because the M.O. in both of these crimes is similar: a man on a bicycle demanding money and becoming violent when he doesn’t get it, police suspect the same man is responsible for both attacks. Police continue to investigate the incidents and encourage anyone with information to come forward.