Car impounded following shootout, high speed chase

Police are tonight seeking three men for questioning following a shootout and car chase through the streets of Belize City. According to the authorities, around eight thirty on Sunday night, a mobile patrol on Chetumal Street spotted a maroon four door Toyota car driving “erratically”. The cops say they switched on their lights and sirens in an attempt to pull the vehicle over but it sped off. A pursuit ensued through the streets of Belama, across the Northern Highway and into the Buttonwood Bay area. A.S.P. Edward Broaster was behind the wheel of the cruiser and reports that at some point during the chase, someone in the car broke the rear windshield, pushed a shotgun through the opening and pulled the trigger. Someone else in the car then put what looked like a nine millimetre out the rear window and also fired at the cops. Broaster returned fire and quickly called for backup. The cars careened across the city into the Cran and Mapp Street area until the cops say someone departed from the vehicle. That individual jumped over the fence of Belize Estate and hotfooted it towards the river. We understand the person dropped a 12-guage pump action shotgun while running through the yard. The weapon was later recovered but none of the occupants in the car have yet been found. The red Toyota was later discovered abandoned on New Road. A search of its interior netted police one expended twelve gauge cartridge and a cell phone. Subsequent investigations led officers to the car’s owner, identified as Steve Robateau. Robateau is claiming that earlier that same day, he rented his vehicle to two men. If you have any information that can assist investigators on this case, please call the nearest station.