Armed businesswoman shoots thief in noon robbery

Tonight a well known criminal is under police guard at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital pending charges in connection with an assault on a Belize City businesswoman. According to police, around twelve-thirty this afternoon a lone assailant approached Kim Shop at the corner of South Street and West Canal, forced his way inside, and started grabbing everything in sight. But the store’s proprietor was manning the counter, and having survived a number of attacks on her businesses and her home, she was ready for trouble. The shop owner took out her licensed handgun and started pulling the trigger. Investigators tell News Five, four of the five bullets found their mark in the assailant’s torso and hand. The bleeding man only barely managed to escape the scene carrying groceries, phone cards and coins. But thanks to an anonymous tip, cops were soon hot on his trail. Officers on mobile patrol spotted a suspicious individual in a taxi in the King’s Park area about a half hour after the attack and immediately detained him. The badly injured man was rushed to the hospital and immediately taken into the operating theatre for surgery. Sources close to the investigation have identified the accused as twenty-six year old Stackle Monsanto. We understand that as soon as he is well enough to be taken before a magistrate, Monsanto will be charged with burglary.