A murder attempt foiled; police fires shot at gunman
A murder attempt was foiled today in south side Belize City. Sometime after ten this morning, Garrick Hemmans Senior was heading to his sister’s home on Antelope Street when he was followed by a shooter on bicycle. The assailant set chase after Hemmans Senior, who sought cover inside a relative’s yard nearby. The shooter fired one shot at his target, but as he was fleeing towards Antelope Street’s junction with Curassow Street, the assailant was spotted by a police patrol with the gun in his hand. Police officers fired several shots at the gunman, who made a run for it through an open lot before hopping a nearby fence. In their spanking new vehicles, police was aided by its K-nine Unit to process the area in search for the gun, which it is believed was disposed of by the shooter. News Five was on the scene and spoke off camera to an eyewitness and the sister of Hemmans Senior. She says that the brazen gunman, who wore no masks or anything to conceal his face, is someone well known by her brother and the family.
Voice of: Sherri Hemmans, Sister of Target
“Well my brother was coming off of the bus; he was walking to bring his knapsack to my house, which he usually does. He passed a group of guys on Gibnut Street in front of Thrifty’s. And when he reached at the corner of Gibnut Street and Seagull, a neighbor told him to run because someone was following him. He ran, dropped his knapsack on Antelope Street and went to my cousin’s house. The guy came around the lane, saw that he went into the yard and he turned back. When my brother saw that he was turning back to go where he came from, he came out on the street to go retrieve his bag, but the guy saw that he was coming so he turned back around to come into him to shoot at him. my brother ran into my cousin’s yard and then the guy came in front of the house and shot a single shot at him, but he missed; I’m not clear if he caught the house or not. After that, he proceeded towards Curassow Street and Antelope; a police man was there and he [the police man] fired three shots at him or more. The guy ran left his bicycle, ran in the empty lot next to my house and jumped the back fence. I don’t know where he went. After that the police asked my brother some questions and they took him to the station to make a statement.”
Duane Moody
“Does your brother know who he was? Does he have beef with this person?”
Voice of: Sherri Hemmans
“My brother doesn’t have beef with them. We all grew up together and now that people, everyone went their own way, they are associated with gang members and so forth. They have problems with my brother—I don’t know for what reason because it is not the first time. The guy, his brothers, whenever they see my brother, they interfere with him and they threaten him or stuff like that. So we told him to stay away from the city, but he came in today to go to his work office. He is usually in a vehicle, but today he was walking and they tried to pounce upon the opportunity.”
Duane Moody
“But he definitely knows this person?”
Voice of: Sherri Hemmans
“Yes we do know the person. We saw him. The person is very brazen because he shot at my brother and my cousins were at their door and he still fired a shot at my brother. I was at my window looking at him too and I saw him.”
Voice of: Eyewitness
“I mi deh inside di watch TV and I hear something like pop shot and when I peep out I just see wah man pan bike with a red shirt and ih turn back and ih had wah gun ina ih hand. And I see the police di start to pop shot at ahn. And ih gone right ina that place deh and gone bout ih business.”
Duane Moody
“Now this person left his bike and ran through the bush?”
Voice of: Eyewitness
“Yeah, ih left the bike right on the street side dehn and ih run gone around the fence.”
