Shooting on Antelope Street wounds three
It is a familiar type of crime that–for some unknown reason–has not been seen very often in 2003. But Wednesday evening the staccato sound of rapid gunfire once again echoed across a Belize City neighbourhood. When the commotion ceased, three people lay wounded, one seriously. News 5’s Marion Ali reports.
Nikita Smith, shooting victim
“The young man ride from up Antelope then he stop pan the Boulevard front ah the big yellow house weh deh right corner ah the boulevard and the lane? Then ih just tek off ih foot off ah the pedal then ih watch we, then I see ih tek out ih gun and ih start to fire.”
Sixteen-year-old Nikita Smith was one of three people from a group of five, who were shot at close range while watching a funeral procession around 6:00 Wednesday evening at the Corner of Antelope Street and Central American Boulevard.
Marion Ali
“Do you know who this young man is?”
Nikita Smith
“No. I not even see ih face cause ih just look back then ih turn.”
Marion Ali
“Who was the first person that got shot?”
Nikita Smith
“Roland Small. Then aftawards when I drop pan the ground then when I watch my foot I see I get shot too.”
Marion Ali
“Why would anybody want to shoot at you or any member of your group?”
Nikita Smith
“Yagga and Small…they have enemy you know. They and the George Street bwai can’t ‘gree.”
Marion Ali
“You’re Yagga’s girlfriend, right?”
Nikita Smith
“Yeah.”
And “Yagga”, who is no stranger to police, is who they too believe was the intended target.
G. Michael Reid, Police Press Officer
“We don’t believe that any of the persons shot were in fact the intended victim. We think they were after somebody else. We believe this to be an old beef between these guys.”
“We know that the person who was supposed to have done the shooting, was himself the victim of a gunshot a few months ago. So this might just have been a retaliation because the word on the street was that the intended victim was in fact the one who had allegedly committed that shooting.”
But police believe there was more than one person involved, and have detained three men. Investigations reveal the gunman and two others passed the area in a pick-up truck minutes before the shooting. The driver, according to police, waited a block away while his comrades retrieved bikes from the truck back, and then rode back to commit the crime. Those to be charged have not yet been named, but will answer to attempted murder, dangerous harm and use of deadly means of harm. The truck driver will face a charge of abetment. Marion Ali for News 5.
Small underwent surgery Wednesday night at the K.H.M.H. after a bullet penetrated his face and throat. While he is reportedly in stable condition, doctors say that his recovery is far from assured. The third victim, sixteen-year-old Dion Trapp, suffered a gunshot wound to his shoulder. Both he and Smith have been released after treatment. Police have recovered three nine millimetre shells from the crime scene.
