Two Men Killed During Shooting on Caesar Ridge Road
There was a murder in Belize City in which the gunman was also killed on Saturday night. It happened on Caesar Ridge Road around nine o’clock and left Kareem Gillett and the gunman, Tareek Smith dead. Gillett came under attack from a Smith, who drove up in a rented vehicle to Gillett’s house. While police say Smith went there to buy weed, Gillett’s family says Gillett was on call in his yard when he was hit by a spray of bullets that ended his life instantly. A person with Gillett also fired shots hitting Smith on the back and causing his demise. Last May, Smith was accused for two counts of attempted murder of Jamal Palacio and Justin Stuart and was out on bail. But on Saturday night, the shooter was killed. Here is News Five’s Isani Cayetano with a report.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
A strange twist of fate has left a gunman and his quarry dead, following a shooting incident on Saturday night during which thirty-two-year-old Kareem Gillett was blindsided by the occupants of a grey sports utility vehicle. Gillett was standing on Caesar Ridge Road, near its intersection with Allan Pitts Crescent, when a Ford Explorer emerged on the scene. Alighting the SUV, Gillett’s attacker fired multiple shots in his direction.
Voice of: Relative of the Deceased
“Da moment deh, he mi deh pan wahn phone call with his baby mom, his son ma. While dehn di talk, dis car, wahn Explorer, of whatever dehn seh it is, come from outta nowhere and tek wahn good bredda life fi no reason.”
The incident happened shortly before nine o’clock just across from this bus shed. Upon being injured, Gillett fell into a nearby drain. That’s where responding officers would find him shortly thereafter.
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“Police came across the lifeless body of Kareem Gillett. He exhibited gunshot wounds to the body. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.”
It may have been poetic justice or instant karma, but Gillett’s alleged shooter would himself fall victim to gunfire. As fate would have it, Tareek Smith was shot once in the back by someone else who, according to Commissioner of Police Chester Williams, fired in self-defense. Smith would not survive the injury.
Chester Williams
“Police later received information of a second person at the hospital. I think his name is Tareek Smith who also had gunshot injury and was undergoing treatment. Smith died minutes later from those. What our investigation so far is revealing is that a group of young men from the Jerusalem area, this would be the extension had rented two vehicles from an auto rental in Belize City earlier in the day, with the intention of carrying out some shootings within the south side area of Belize City. They went to Gillett’s residence and pretended to be purchasing weed. When Gillett came out, he was fired upon and a person who was with Gillett returned fire, causing Smith’s fatal injuries. Now you would see that while we can treat the murder of, the killing of Gillett as a murder, the subsequent killing of Smith would have classified more as a self-defense because he was returning fire after Gillett had been shot and he likewise would have been shot. And even though the weapon of choice he may have used is an illegal firearm, the law does make provision that even if you have an illegal firearm you can still defend yourself or other persons from serious injuries or death.”
This is the second member of the family that the Gilletts have lost to gun violence in less than a year.
Voice of: Relative of Deceased
“Dehn leff my auntie di mourn. Dah noh even wahn year yet since Alrick gone. Dehn got my auntie di mourn. Dehn tek weh wahn nother son, ih rough. We sih weh all people go through when dehn loved ones dead but dis one yah da more wahn shockwave todeh.”
The feud, says ComPol Williams, has been ongoing between these rival groups for some time now. Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.
