Medardo and Lawrence Canelo are Murdered in Peini
Medardo & Lawrence Canelo
Forty-six-year-old Medardo Canelo and his nephew, thirty-three-year-old Lawrence Canelo were shot and killed inside their place of business in Punta Gorda last night. The double murder took place during curfew hours, but while the men lived where they worked, their killer moved in and out of the neighborhood freely. The shooting happened on Cayo Street sometime after nine-thirty when Medardo and Lawrence were counting the proceeds of the day’s business. During the shooting an eighteen-year-old woman was also injured. News Five’s Isani Cayetano has that story.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
An uncle and his nephew were rubbed out in a hail of bullets on Thursday night in Punta Gorda. The deadly shooting took place here at Flash Bar & Cool Spot shortly before ten p.m. According to the victim’s niece, who spoke with News Five on the condition of anonymity, the men were inside the establishment when they met their demise.
Voice of: Punta Gorda Resident
“My cousin called me, my uncle’s daughter, the deceased, called me and that’s how I know and she started crying and said, “My daddy, my daddy died” and “Fish”, that’s what they called my brother, “Fish” and I was like, “No.” I was sleeping, this was like 10:30 or eleven and I was sleeping while she and I just jumped up cause I didn’t know what to do and then it was curfew and I mih cyant come out fi check.”
Assistant Superintendent Fitzroy Yearwood shared details of the double homicide from his desk at the Raccoon Street Police Station.
Fitzroy Yearwood
ASP Fitzroy Yearwood, Communications Director, Belize Police Department
“Police received a call sometime around 9:50 p.m. on Thursday, August twelfth. Upon arrival at the scene they saw a motionless body at a bungalow building, believed to be Flash Bar and Cool Spot. Upon checking the building they saw another person, motionless, of course. Then they found the identity to be Lawrence Anthony Canelo, thirty-three years old, and his uncle Medardo Adam Canelo, forty-six years old. Our investigation has revealed so far that these men, who also reside on the rear portion of that establishment, were inside checking their sales for the day when they heard a knocking at the backdoor of the establishment. The uncle was more inside the building, so Lawrence went to the backdoor, opened the backdoor, of course, when they were hit by a barrage of bullets.”
The pair was caught flatfooted in the salvo of gunshots. A woman who was inside the bar was also injured. In describing her sibling, the young lady who spoke with us off-camera said that he mostly kept to himself.
Voice of: Punta Gorda Resident
“He don’t fool with no one, he kept to himself. My uncle was the same thing. They are just two loving persons, they were close. They hang together all the time and they are not the type of persons to say it’s a, known to the police or anything. They are not like that. They are just full of love and just a hang-out person having fun, that’s it.”
Police are exploring the likelihood of the murders being an act of reprisal for a previous killing several months ago.
ASP Fitzroy Yearwood
“There were excessive, expended shells found on the scene and we know that we can rule out robbery indeed. Not only that, if it was a robbery, they wouldn’t have left behind a witness that could… But of course they were wearing masks and their identity wouldn’t be of any concern to them. But it would want to suggest that we’re looking for persons that may have some kind of grievance with these people.”
Reporter
“Might it be a retaliation for a prior murder in that town?”
ASP Fitzroy Yearwood
“We cannot say that for sure but I know that one person of interest is being sought, known to the police.”
Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.
