ComPol Discusses Narco Shootings in the North
Sergio Hall
On July twentieth, the home of Sergio Hall in Chan Chen Village was riddled with bullets from a high-power rifle. Surprisingly, there was no loss of life during the heavy shower of led on the residence. Hall, however, was injured in the shoulder. The incident is the latest in a rash of targeted shootings in Corozal District, believed to be related to narco activity. So, what is the Belize Police Department doing to stem the gun violence that is taking root in the north? That question was put to Commissioner of Police Chester Williams when he spoke with reporters on Wednesday.
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“That matter, again, we still believe that it has a lot to do with the earlier shootings we have had in the north, starting with the shooting death of the guy Usher, and we do expect that the matter is not going to go away easily. We do have our presence still in that area with our operations teams doing what needs to be done to prevent these things from occurring, but again, like I said, there is no police work that is going to be foolproof to avoid these things from occurring. But I think that all in all, the police work in the area has been extremely good to the extent that we have seen the spate of shootings decrease tremendously.”
Reporter
“Sir, how can you say this when a house was riddled with twenty-two shots from an AR-15 and an M4 Carbine, sir. You know the types of guns used, they are consistent with the ones used at Usher’s house. The man lives in Chan Chen. Hall is a known target, how is it that this so much led entered the mans house and you all aren’t anywhere near to prevent it?”
Chester Williams
“I can say it based on what you would refer to as empirical data. You are a person who loves data when it’s convenient to you. When it is not convenient to you then you try to throw it through the window. But if you listen closely to what I said, “that spate”, I didn’t say that the efforts of the police in the area have stopped it, but certainly we would have seen earlier on that the shootings were more consistent. Now, that is not the case.”
