Shooting at city restaurant leaves one dead
Belize City gangs have once more turned portions of the city into their own private war zone with two men killed and three others injured during shootings on Cemetery Road, Police Street, and West Canal between Thursday night and this afternoon. We begin tonight with the latest incident around one-forty-five this afternoon when the meeting of hot lead on warm flesh had a deadly outcome. The broad daylight murder of twenty-five year old David Vasquez brought traffic on one of the city’s busiest streets to a halt as investigators poured over the upstairs veranda of the Olympic Restaurant where Vasquez’s body lay in a pool of his own blood. As his girlfriend waited anxiously for word from the cops, Police Press Officer G. Michael Reid told News Five they’ve picked up the trail of the gunman.
G. Michael Reid, Police Press Officer
?We understand that sometime around one-forty-five a number of people were inside the Olympic Restaurant drinking beers, when a male person entered, obviously armed with a handgun and chased one of the individuals. The individual ran upstairs. He was pursued by that person. A number of shots were fired and the person now is pronounced dead.?
?We understand he rode up on a bicycle and actually escaped on a bicycle. It goes to show the boldness of these crimes being committed in the middle of the day on a busy street, with no regard as to anybody being identified at all. So we are hoping that people will have seen and come forth and help the police in their investigation.?
Vasquez was shot twice to the chest and once to the left side of his body. News Five understands that police questioned five people this evening, including a woman. One suspect has been detained in connection with the murder. Vasquez, who resided on Sixth Street in the Kings Park area, worked as a plumber. He is the stepson of Magistrate Eric Fairweather.
It is not clear yet if there is a connection, but on Thursday night around nine there was another shooting in front of Olympic Restaurant, which left Alvin Cumberbatch with a bullet to the leg. A couple hours later, a police mobile unit was patrolling that same area when officers heard shots being fired. A search of the vicinity led to the arrest of Leroy Rhaburn after police found a blue pen gun on the ground next to him. Rhaburn appeared in Magistrate’s Court today and was remanded to Hattieville Prison until June thirtieth.
