Man Critical After Overnight Belize City Shooting
The streets of the city have been relatively free of gun violence. But around nine o’clock on Tuesday night, shots rang out on Central American Boulevard on the south side of Belize City. Two persons were injured, but it is Hammon Lemoth who is in critical condition tonight at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. Lemoth, a resident from Ontario Village was shot as he worked inside a barbershop. The shots were heard by his family, who live just two blocks away; a motive for the shooting is still not known. News Five’s Duane Moody spoke with his family who are asking for assistance to take him out of the country.
Duane Moody, Reporting
Twenty-three-year-old Hammon Lemoth is tonight fighting for his life at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital following a shooting on Tuesday night on the south side of Belize City. Around nine p.m., Lemoth was cutting a patron’s hair inside a barbershop on Central American Boulevard when at least one gunman came up and took aim at the unsuspecting men. The echo of the gun blasts could be heard in the distance as the attempt was made on their lives. While the patron was hit to the hand—and has been treated and released from the hospital—Lemoth was hit twice to the head and is clinging to life.
Amram Lemoth
Amram Lemoth, Brother of Shooting Victim
“I received a phone call from my bredda that my lee bredda get shot ina ih head at the barber shop right at the Boulevard. I didn’t really know what happen until this morning because I got mixed information that he got shot nine times and until I reached here I found out that he got shot twice ina his head while he mi di trim wah young man. And I think the young man weh mi di trim also got shot too ina ih hand. He is in a critical condition, a little stable. He got shot behind the ear and one in the head top. At this point, he has brain damage; ih brain swell and they had to remove liquid from the brain. The doctor also said that he has some more liquid in the brain but the brain might absorb it. He is telling us pointblank that over the next forty-eight hours, they are going to be monitoring him and he has a sixty to forty survival rate, being that surviving is lower.”
According to Amram Lemoth, his younger brother recently relocated to Belize City last November, from Ontario Village in the Cayo District, to assist their sister in her business over on Partridge Street. In the evening, he uses his barbering skills for additional income at the barbershop, just two blocks from where he lived.
Hammon Lemoth
Amram Lemoth
“He graduated from the Belmopan Baptist High School, very bright student; he got perfect score on his working experience. He also represented his school for Du Di Rait Ting before he graduated; so Hammon; he is a very outgoing person. Like any other young people who come from a rural community, you come to Belize City to seek opportunity and he migrated here from since November and he started to cut hair right at the barber shop. We warned him about the guys who frequent the barbershop and we don’t want him to get caught up with anything cause yo young, black…you know.”
The family believes that Hammon was not the intended target and was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. Assistant Commissioner of Police Chester Williams says that the investigation so far is showing that he had been threatened, but didn’t take it serious.
Chester Williams
ACP Chester Williams, Regional Commander, Eastern Division South
“He may have received threats from some individual the day before. And I want to sound this to the general public, in today’s era, if you receive threat from anybody, please take it seriously and come to the police. Often times when people are shot or injured or killed, we hear after that they were getting threats. If these threats would come to us beforehand, we can step in, do interventions and see how we can prevent the threats from being carried through and it can save lives too.”
That person has since been detained for questioning, but police maintain that a motive has not been ascertained. It is also not known if the person in custody committed the crime.
Meanwhile, the Lemoth family is looking at the options available to get further medical assistance for Hammon.
Amram Lemoth
“The only other option apart from having him there on observation is to try to see how we can fly him out to get medical attention abroad where they have the equipment; the better equipments. I have been in contact with air ambulance from Cancun since this morning and they are telling us that it is seventeen thousand dollars, U.S., just to fly him out and that doesn’t even cover the hospital fee. I called BERT and they only do within Belize and to the borderlines. I called the other one at the airport and they said same thing. They gave me a quotation that is much cheaper, but they don’t do it abroad. So the next option that we have right now is to call Tropic Air to see if we can make some kind of arrangements with them. We are looking for different options, different medical facilities and one that was recommended to us was one in Cancun but that is also expensive.”
Duane Moody for News Five.
If anyone would like to assist the family, they can contact them at 615-7061, 615-3615 or 650-7467. Deposits can also be made to Amram Lemoth’s Heritage Bank account, 921-2426 or Sheridan Lemoth’s Atlantic Bank account number 211-028-396.
