Sunday shooting claims Bz. City teenager
Tonight, yet another Belize City family is in mourning after their teenage son was brutally murdered in the early morning hours of Sunday. The motive of the crime is still unknown but the bullet-riddled buildings are evidence to the fact that the intent of the gunmen was clearly murder. Earlier today, News Five’s Ann-Marie Williams spoke to the lucky survivors living in grief… and fear.
Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting
“Shots rang out in this Neal Pen Road neighbourhood early Sunday morning, twenty bullets to be exact, penetrated this little hut and after the smoke was cleared, an eighteen year old young man laid dead on his bed.”
That man is Eric Olivera Jr., better known as “Shonku” of seventy-six Neal’s Pen Road in Belize City. He was shot five times; in the right temple, right elbow, left hip and in the butt and right thigh by two armed gunmen intent on murder.
This incident wasn’t a driveby shooting as was first reported by the police. Mother of the deceased, Yvonne Myers said at about 1:15 a.m. Sunday she was lying across her bed taking care of a six-month old baby she was babysitting. She heard the gate and thought that baby’s parents may have come to take the child home. However, Myers said she couldn’t have been more wrong. She saw no one, but then heard gunshots.
Yvonne Myers, Mother of Deceased
“I hear two shots, but like it still no sound close, so I neva really sweat it. And when the third one come and glass start to fly pan the bed, that’s when we hurry get off the bed and lay down on the floor. I said, Rico the baby, so I lef he, he haul down the two baby and put deh pan the floor. I creep gone to the middle room and I try haul down everybody, den time gunshot still di fly in the house, the three rooms they shoot up. I knock on my daughter door and she seh, ma we deh on the floor. Then look like my son must have heard, put on his light and they see when he put on the light and start to shoot up in this house yah. Now all my husband said, Eric, Yvonne, Shonku. And he want come out, but I hold him and tell him, Rico is you go out deh you wah dead too, cause we no know who di shoot up.
After everything done ease down, as we open the door, two BDF and one police mi out by the gate already. So we tell them mi son in the back house, come help we and I di try fumble to get the keys to open the burglar bars. The police run in and we try haul open the door and all we see is blood di come through his ears, blood through his nose, his butt.”
Before riddling Olivera’s little house at the back of the yard, the gunmen sprayed enough bullets inside Myers’ three-bedroom house, where twelve people were staying at the time, to cause substantial damage.
They started with her bedroom window. Four bullets shattered the windowpane, two went into her son’s middle room, two in her daughter’s back bedroom, which came through her room door and blew a hole in this safe in the kitchen.
While all the commotion was taking place, Myers’ eldest daughter Melanie, tried desperately to save her two children’s lives.
Melanie Myers, Sister of the Deceased
“Like they just the lim up the house, just di go like scatter shots. Like machine, just go boom, boom, all about the house, the two house, because both houses they di shoot up at the same time. I no really know how much sounds, but dah like three different kinds of sounds yuh di yer.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“You said you had a baby in the room and you were scared?”
Melanie Myers
“Me and my two son and my boyfriend were lying on the bed. He got my big son and pulled him down on the floor, then he grabs me. And the same time I grab the baby and the bullet come through the window and it just give me a lee graze on my hand and I jump over my baby and hold down on the floor.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“So you grabbed your son in time?”
Melanie Myers
“Yes, I grabbed him in time. Yes, he would have died too.”
Myers said she’s not certain what triggered the shooting spree, however rumours are running wild.
Yvonne Myers
“According to the street source weh we di yer, weh everybody di seh, that dah my lee bredda deh di look fah. They seh last week Saturday somebody chase him and he run in my yaad. But he run enna my yaad and gone through the back street, because you have access to the back street from through my yaad.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“You said that your son was not a gang member, but his uncle was involved?”
Yvonne Myers
“Yeah. So they people must have said, well he run in yah and they no see ah come out, dah yah ih live. Bu I no see my bredda long time, my bredda no live yah. Ih got two sista weh live enna Pen Road, dah no one. So they should a mi get their sources before they come shoot up my son innocently.”
It seems this latest string of violence has even innocent Fido licking his wounds and a family afraid of retaliation.
Yvonne Myers
“All I would want, dah everything stop. Please no come back dah mi house. My lee bredda no deh yah. Unu done kill one fi me, please no come back. We had twelve people enna dah house weh could a mi dead Saturday night, twelve. Please, please no come back.”
Ann-Marie Williams for News 5.
Up to newstime police have yet to detain any suspects for this latest murder.
