Eight year old shot multiples times and bicyclist murdered; why?
marcus mahler
Just past mid-day, a man heading back to work after purchasing lunch, was shot multiple times on Faber’s Road. He did not survive the vicious shooting and died while receiving treatment at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. An eight year old boy who was in the same area was also injured when the barrage of shots were unleashed from what sources say was a high powered weapon. He is in critical condition. A third victim, a teenager, was more fortunate, she was only grazed by a bullet. It is believed that the three were not the intended targets. But as the saying goes, “If you can’t catch Harry, you catch his shirt”, and it is believed that the minors were attacked because they were relatives of the intended target. News Five’s Jose Sanchez was on the scene and files this report.
Jose Sanchez, Reporting
Officers were picking up expended shells from various weapons on the street and in a yard at number forty Faber’s Road at twelve thirty this afternoon. Three men exited a blue Ford Escort and sprayed bullets on two of the five houses in the yard. Two persons were shot.
Mr. Lewis
“Deh people deh di play like deh nuh know. Deh bwai come yah and shoot. Dah wan seh ah mad di do dis ting yo know, di man weh di run George Street . My daughter si wend eh shoot mi son. Police nuh do nuttin. Invincible. Deh got fu di lee gyal weh deh kill. Ih invincible nuh? This wudda mek deh come atta me now. I have my gun yo know?. No mek I get crazy I cud tell unu dat that. This da [censored]. The police station deh right so. The police pass when this [censored] thing happen and nobody stop. Deh nuh even stop you have to hail deh fu stop.”
Mr. Lewis was angry because one of his granddaughter’s was grazed by a bullet and his grandson, eight year old Marques Mahler, was shot several times as he tried to run away.
Jose Sanchez
What were you able to find out about your son?
Voice of: Theodore Mahler, Father of 8yr. old shooting victim
“Well, at the time I wanted to know if my son was dead or alive. So, that I could feel a little bit safer knowing that he got shot but he did not die and he goin to make it through the day somehow.”
Jose Sanchez
Have they told you how many shots he sustained?
Voice of: Theodore Mahler
“So far, My mother–in-law told me that he got seven shots from an M-16 gun.”
Jose Sanchez
You son is only eight years old, I mean where was he? What could have caused him to be, they had to have know what they were doing when they were shooting at him
Voice of: Theodore Mahler, father of 8yr. old shooting victim
“Yeah, well actually, my son was sitting on the step right there as you can see and when he heard the first shot. My big step-son he told me when the first shot rang off my next son run down the down the step, the shooter saw him and just aim and just start shooting at him, probably, I don’t know if they wanted to shoot anyone or they took him for someone. Bu they could not take him for someone else because he’s a minor.”
It’s not the first time the Lewis family members have been shot. Cecil Lewis was shot a couple months ago in the yard, which is about a hundred yards from the police substation.
cecil lewis
Cecil Lewis
“Well, I mi deh pon my verandah di sit down and the car drive up and fire shot atta me. Up to now, the police man deh nuh do nuttin bout it. Deh nuh even tek wah statement fra me yet, Deh got di car and deh still nuh get nuttin fra me yet.”
Jose Sanchez,
Ok, that was just a couple months ago, but today, what happened today?
Cecil Lewis
“Tudeh ,well, I mi di do sohn work my my house and the guy just run eena di yard and staat shoot up again, shoot up mi lee nephew and wah next young man.”
Jose Sanchez
We understand that there was a blue car , some men got in it and drove off and escaped around the corner.
Cecil Lewis
“Yeah, it was a blue car.”
Jose Sanchez
“so, hopefully the police get a lead, but in terms of safety, do you know what kind of security that they have at the substation , which is just houses away from you.
Cecil Lewis
“ well dis wah be di second time di police mad deh stan up righ deh and nuh do nuttin. An ih have weapon. But he seh he nuh di come cah only he wan deh dah di station.”
Jose Sanchez
You think , clearly we need more police officers.
Cecil Lewis
“yeah we need more police officers. Armed police officers ”
Some of the men in the yard ran further into the yard, and bullets were sprayed upon another home.
Voice of Lewis Family member
“I was in my bedroom when I heard gunshot. My daughter was looking at the TV. When I heard the first two shot, I run and call them inside and get on the floor. When I get inside, she said daddy daddy I feel something bun my foot I get shot. I seh jus lay down pon di floor and so we lie down until we stop hear the gunshot. Then we come out from there. And what we saw, I saw my little nephew out there on the ground. It coulda mi be worse cause even me when I dash inside ah di room, when I saw bullet, bullet di fly pass me and all. I cuda mi get shot ina my bedroom too.”
But while eight year old Marques lies in a critical condition at the KHMH, a bicycle is all that remains of forty-six year old Calvin ‘Shorty’ Graham. According to his co-worker, Graham, was only riding on the street back to the garbage dump on the western highway when he was murdered.
goldburn adolphus
Goldburn Adolphus, Co-worker/friend of murder victim
“Due to the weather we seh wi wah pay wah lee earlish. Di boss call mi een, ih send di money. We pay off the workers deh and di mand seh ih gwein go buy wash lee chicken cah deh di work , di finish up di finishing work. And dat was it dat was last time we si di man mein. When I went to di hospital deh and I si di man chest dah like wah sieve. Shorty wasn’t nobody weh affiliated with no kind of gang, shatty dah no king of trouble man. Dis dah di person weh I get fu know. Man, if you rail up with shorty too haad, shatty di look fi cry or go bout his business.”
Shanice Bowman, niece of murder victim
shanice bowman
“He da mi just wah nice kind person , once ih have anything fi give yo and yo ask ah fi give yo ih wah give yo. He always did eh fi everybody , once , yo cud count pan he and he got di time fi come ih wah come. He dah jus wah haad working person and ih neva really deserve dis weh happen tudeh. Honestly ih really neva deserve it.”
Goldburn Adolphus, Co-worker/Friend of Murder victim
“Dis dah my opinion when it comes to crime and violence like killing, murder innocent murder mein I di tell yoh mek wi bring back Moses law; eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. Dehn thing yah di hurt people yoh know bredrin. Dehn thing yah really hurt when yoh si somebody right yah, right now dis minute side ah yoh and di next minute mein you di identify dehn inna di morgue. Mein dat sad mein, ih despicable weh di happen inna di country my brother.”
The blood stains of the eight year old remains on the shirt of his brother. Additional slugs were still strewn around the yard after the officers left. And a slug still buried in one wall festers like the cool contempt one father has for the men who shot his son.
Jose Sanchez
“Is this the end of it right here?”
Voice of: Theodore Mahler
“Do I have to answer that? It’s a very good one but I’ll leave it right so I won’t say nothing else. I just want to say that the shooters, they are coward and I don’t know what will become of them because in the future I don’t know if they will live to see a next day the way how they are resting.”
Reporting for News Five, Jose Sanchez.
Belize City is in a sad state where senseless crimes like this happen on a daily basis and nothing comes of it, no one is captured, no one is charged, no one saw anything, no one knows why, no one knows who and it continues in this dreadful cycle. Belize City is becoming very outlawed and a very bad place to live or visit. It is filled with alot of very bad people who have no regard for human life. In no other district do you hear of daily violence like this happening. Something drastic needs to be done in Belize City just to prove a point…..bring back hanging. Of course you will hear the human rights group up in arms about it but who cares,it needs to be done to put these animals down for good. The gift of life is so meaningless nowadays anyways so why bother have any sympathy about putting the murderers to death when they had no mercy when putting their victims to death……..
And now what?
O My god (crying) this is so sad.. not even the kids are safe, I agree with on eof the co-worker, it is time to go back to the Moses Law…an eye for an eye!!
Now violence against children! Over the past two weeks were have heard about several abuse against children in one form or the other. The sexual abuse cases, physical abuse and murder of the child, now this beautiful boy shot several times. Why?
The violence we see on the streets of Belize is just the tip of the iceberg. Violence against women and children is inevitable in such an environment. These crazy men running around the streets shooting people don’t go home and become peaceful respectful men. They are as amoral at home as they are on the streets. This is why we need the law to be extremely hard on them not to protect other gang members but the most vulnerable in our society (young women and their children).
oh my gosh its so sad mein now these criminals are killin our young children to be honest there is nothing we can do but to put back hanging in belize if not then these guys wont fair the justice system at all
n now di poor boys dead!!
belize is out of control and i personally think that the police force have a whole lot to do with it and it need to be clean out and the prime minister need step up and do his duties as a leader belize is a beautiful peace of gold and we need to keep it shining god bless belize
This case will prompt us all to dive once again into that endless sea of violence in belize searching for answers, feeling sorry for the dead and wounded and making suggestions, and tomorrow will be no difference than today.
Tomorrow kids will be gunned down, women will be raped and murdered, gangs will rule and justice will failed, get over it.
No one in “power” reads this news, so nothing will be done about anything, really.
Calling on Mr Hon Singh, you have to do something about the shooting of innocent person, you know Mr Singh all those police officers with their guts hanging out, place at each corner of the streets in these high risk areas, equipped them with high tech guns and give orders to shoot and KILL all those crazy men going around killing innocent people.
Please Mr Singh do something, thighten up the laws of our country, so justice can be carried out.
I no wen get vex with the police if they start to kill all these bad men, its about time!!!!
i dont understand why all these crimes are happing in the streets today i have had enough of these things no one is safe not even the young children . an how will yhe law be hard on them when they them selves are commiting crimes i think that was the best thing to remove jefferies fromthe post of comissioner
With all due respect to Hon. Prime Minister, you need to seriously/urgently step up and address the violence in our country. People are loosing their lives senselessly on a daily basis. i don’t see why we are living in a war zone when we were always known to be a safe and blessed country. Belize is too toooooo small for this kind of problem. What will it take to make you act on the crime situation? Are you afraid to act, or is it not one of your priorities.
About 15 yrs or so ago when this gang violence and lawless behavior began rearing it’s ugly head, then Min. of Government Hubert Elrington had a solution for this wayward culture that was just begining to take root. He suggested that since these wanna be gangsters are hell bent on killing each other with absolutely no regards to innocent bystanders, why not round them up, give to each one a gun and enough bullets, take them to an isolated location and just let them SHOOT IT OUT right there amongst themselves.
At the time, the above scenario may have been the reason why he was known as Crazy Glue.
Today , with the callous disregard for human life, where not even the innocence of an 8 yr old matters, Mr. Crazy Glue don’t seem so crazy after all !!. Food for thought Mr Min. of Police…….
My condolences go out to the family of both these victims. What a loss for Belize: a hard worker slain in broad daylight, and a child, we now know, fatally wounded. I can recall from various news casts, three other children being shot in the city of Belize since the start of 2010: One was getting ready for school when she was shot inside her home in Port Loyola, another was at a shop on Water Lane with his mom, another was going to the shop with her granddad, and sadly she will never walk again. For some strange reason the then Crime Minister never thought it was important to give a statement or word of comfort to the families of these kids. So when the PM removed that useless minister, under whose tenure we have experienced another 200+ murders, Rogue cops who successfully planned and executed major armed robberies, Police brutalizing and slaying innocent citizens, etc, we became hopeful again.
The feeling of lack of personal safety is widespread when broad daylight shootings occur. There’s no words to describe how I felt when I learned of this child’s demise. Yet when we finally get to hear from the new UNELECTED Minister Douglas Singh, on the very day of these shootings, he found it more important to challenge the “uninspiring” senior Police officers to “chin ups’ and “sit ups” if they were to get an apology from him for his irresponsible statements about their personal attire and lack of physical fitness. Personally, I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for an apology from a UDP Minister in power as they apologize to no one. The last UDP Minister to apologize was Minister Finnegan to the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, when he was in Opposition. Sedi Elrigton called our borders artificial ( NO APOLOGY), Minister Heredia wanted black people searched and questioned upon entering the new ‘country of San Pedro’ ( NO APOLOGY), and now you expect a UDP Minister, who doesn’t need our vote to become a minister, to apologize? Dream on!
ok…..now with something like this should really catch the PM attention….knowing that aint going to happen…so…we as belizean should …………. the prime minister…..the way how belize is today, its like the country is running without a leader or someone in power….yo? if take a child to get shoot n the prime minister aint did nothing???? his action alone tell the belizean ppl that he dont care….it is sad when someone lose their life over stupidness, but a child??? mind u an “INNOCENT” child??? its something serious…..ruthless ppl just have no regards for other ppl lives….obviously they dont care about their life. BUT GOD PLEASE WATCH OVER THAT CHILD AND BLESS HIS FAMILY….N MAY U BRING S.O.B TO SERVE JUSTICE.
Mr. SINGH…………….. had better DO MORE THAN JUST SING THE BLUES.
WHERE IS THE MAYOR OF BELIZE CITY???? SHE NEEDS TO GET OFF HER FAT A– AND DO SOMETHING…… ANYTHING!!!!!!!!!
My heart HURTS!! It’s a crying shame to know that Belize have no leaders, because they incourage these murderers to do what ever they want. The country have no Judicial system, because the police force is corrupted, files goes missing, murderers are freed the next day, weapon are cease and release back on the street for a price. The commissioner of Police need to resign ASAP.Mr. Singh I see you challenging the police, and I agree with you, they are only there because the drug lords and the killers and given them bribes, they are behind these killing.
Who is the minister of Defense? he is a coward, he need to resign or clean house of the police force. good citizen need to speak up, so we can get these corruption out of the Force and have these killers off the streets. we need a prisons system where killers are treated like slaves or the death penalty law to be put back in place.
Please, I beg you good Citizen of Belize, Churches,Lawyers, Teachers,Doctors and Civil right leaders let you voice be heard, there has to be someone higher that the PRIME MINISTER, he is not doing anything for the country and to stop the crime.
I will continue to pray for my country, my family and the good citizen on Belize. Remember we do serve a Mighty God and he is the only one we will have to face on judement day. God Bless!!
And whe part mr jeffries deh,, or he fraid fu mek dem shut ah…come out and do something mien or else they gwen afta you….
This is really sad. Some soul-less people live in this country.
do not blame the mayor or the police or anyone else! Citizens of Belize you need to blame yourselves for this type of action! This is retaliation to previous criminal activity and they are seeking retribution.
With that said here is the solution: do not commit crimes and report crime when you see it. They will only get away with this type of behavior if citizens remain silent. The police needs to step up too but people’s actions are way more effective than law enforcement.
Where is “Peppa Spray” when you need him. He could chance young ladies like Ms Usher but he no want to stand up to crime…Shame on you.
not to stray from the point, but the police officers seem to be picking up shell casings(evidence), with their bare hands. Crime scene not secure. No wonder dickie bradley can tear this … apart in court. How the *** can you operate like that. the guy even got a license plate number, but if they have to depend on eye withnesses, forget it. And bullets, and casings are not the only evidence. The shooters were walking all in the yard, and its very sandy. God Help my Belize.
I believe that everything starts with Mr Barrow.He needs to make some changes to our laws to deal with the present crime situation.
They need to give us the right to bear arms to protect ourselves, lives and property. You know what? Screw the law im gettting a gun and I promise I see anything like this happening infront of me..I’m going to jail not the criminal…I’ll be the prisoner then cause I will shoot the light out of these guys so help me….
Elgin, Mr Barrow is not going to make any ammendments to the law. Like many other politicians and their cronies, he sent his children to study law knowing fully well that if he were to do anything to slow down the crime rate, LAWYERS would have to become mere AMBULANCE CHASERS, in order to get clients. CRIME PAYS IN BELIZE! They’re just selling us dreams when they talk about Restoring Belize!
People who do these types of crimes are animals; a man who theif a lee can of sausage from a store is a man who is hungry and poor a man who walk into a yard and assassinate an 8 year old child is a sick human being; I am a human rights activist myself but animals like this belong in the ground, HANG THEM PHUKING HIIIIIIIIIGGHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Our Justice system = Joke. Our Police Dept. = Joke. Our Politicians = Joke. Bean Barrow = Biggest, sickest, most twisted Joke of all.
Barrow’s # 1 priority is to become a dictator; he allows this type of behavior so that Belizeans energy and focus is on the mayhem in the streets while he forges ahead to become the dictator of this country in his a/c office.
A man hungry for power such a Barrow loves and feeds of the stupidity and gullibility of Belizeans. You think the elite of this country gives a flying crap about of the mayhem in the street? As long as it remain that the poor losers keep slaughtering themselves and not the elites, they cool – remember how much hands were thrown up and how many tears where shed and how much police involvement and media coverage when Bohnera and Hoare et al were killed?
Wake up people; our own desperation, poverty and fighting over dwindling basic resource is being used against us to keep us blind from a madman trying to be a Fidel Castro or Mugabe. The media is a damn joke, where is their bleeding heart for the people who are victims of white color criminals? Our people’s land is being taken right from under our nose by these thieving, deceitful, morally bankrupt so-called financial institutes called banks and the media could care less; the only thing Amandala care about is getting paid to publish people’s home in their newspaper for foreclosures; phuking sick, …………..
Its so sad that only a few Belizeans see what is really happening in Belize – the ‘real’ big picture – all this crime and poverty et al is all a distraction; why the hell do you think UDP are leaving these issues and situations to go rampant? The news is filled with despair and tragedy every single day and all our politicians do is make a mockery of the public every single chance they get on the media; they are getting so brazen these days with their comments as well – listen to what these guys say people; there arrogance is right there in plain sight.
Look around Belize and see what people are building massive buildings; who is pretty much now solely in control of our food and commodity supply – Chinese! Chinese are in sole control of 90% or more of the grocery stores in this country; all the local businesses in communities have dwindled to a few and some villages/towns in this country have no local store owners anymore for they were ran out of business. Go into a chinese owned stores and see how many Belizeans are employed by chinese.
I travelled to a popular tourist destination in Belize recently and was approached by a gentleman who is in the ‘real’ estate business; I guess he thought I was rich; after a few minutes talking he basically joked that they (the real estate agents in that area who are predominantly foreigners) will not stop until they get rid of all the locals out of that area. Do you know what this gentleman originally came to Belize as? He came to Belize as a Jehovah Witness; down south they are all over the place, spreading under the guise as Jehovah’s and then a few months later they are very big in the real estate business and many working without permits of any sort; soon after they arrive they are in all sorts of businesses; quite easily, when our own Belizean people struggle to get a business going in this country – one of them is a minister collecting 10% from poor families income and its sad these dumb fools are paying this snake; but poor desperate people are easy to take advantage of, shame on this sick creep.
A good friend of mine who have been all over this planet for he was in the army back in the day in the USA – he said,”Belizeans have an extremely valuable piece of real estate; and your country will be taken over; but not with an invading army; it will be taking away from you piece by piece and your politicians will be more than happy to assist; your people will become third class citizens and live as modern day slaves.” He told me this about almost 10 years ago; and so far he seem to be right on the money.
We need to seriously wake up – we need to get rid of Barrow – we need to get our laws updated – we need to protect the rights and property of our people – we need to put a moratorium on how many Chinese store can open in a community – we need to band together as a people for we are being conquered because we have divided ourselves.
Try to explain this to most people and they look at you with a twist side head and bawl crazy-man-talk dat.
Joke; I think you are attempting to shut the gate after the animals DONE escape!!
Politicians [both parties] disregarding and disrespecting the people= Done
Chineese in control of consumer items=Done
Foreigners in control and ownership of almost all prime real estate=Done
Maybe if you had DONE something 10 yrs ago when your friend advised you, probably the situation would be different today. It seems to me that AII of the above is now……… WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE!!!!!!!!……DONE!!!
i suggest that this newspaper i consider it the best in belize you need to do more that just posting this on the web make a poll section with any and every belizean at home an abroad to write their feelings and concern and send all post directly to the pm and have him answer to the people directly on your web site and news paper your time to step up to the plate channel5 and be a leader in the fight to stop crime get the pm to answer to the belizean people do it now every one who agrees with me say i lets get this thing going start now everyone who agrees with me start posting now under this segment. Show some courage channel5 lets get this going now.
Someone murdered an 8 yr old child, 7 children are now without a father. There is not a block on Fabers Rd. that has not borne witness to murder. Let’s not forget.that a stray bullet earlier this year left a 7yr old paralyzed.
If there is someone living in that yard who has beef with someone else, he needs to move. Sacrificing the rest of the family to protect one man is ridiculous. It does not excuse the animals with guns but we have to value our children enough to protect them.
The Chinese, Arabs, Indians & Americans who have locked up all the lucrative real estate & businesses in the country aren’t killing us, we are killing ourselves. When we failed to heed the warnings & stupidly sold prime real estate to the nice, friendly, smiling white man & the Chinese who slapped down cash, we bought 2nd & 3rd class citizenship in our own country. We gave up our farms & piled on top of each other in the cities with no place to park the new car & fearing that our nice new clothes will be stolen off the line & glaring at the neighbor whom we believe is beneath us. When you own nothing, you have no say & nothing has value including your life.
This madness started shortly after our independence & neither party has clean hands. We allowed a double murderer to run home & never spend one day in jail for killing the woman he was living with & the friend who stopped by to check on her in Los Angeles. A prominent Bzn sold prime real estate on Ambergris Caye for about $50-60,000, that foreigner promptly subdivided & made over $1,500,000US. Shuffling what may be seen as a certain class of people into one area has created a caste system that is killing the spirit of our young men who in turn are killing each other. Let’s not allow this child’s death may be in vain.
THE GOVERNMENT OF BELIZE SHOULD GET ALL THOSE MURDERS AND SEND THEM TO THE US ARMY TO HELP THEM WITH THE WAR SINCE THEY LIKE KILLING PEOPLE AND ALL OF THEM ARE BELIZEAN THIS IS MADNESS I BET WHEN THEY GO TO IRAQ THEY ALL WILL BE A BUNCH OF PUSSY