15-Year-Old Roaring Creek Resident Survives Attack; Aaron Hyde Charged

Jamil Reyes

A fifteen-year-old youth is in a coma tonight after surviving a horrible ordeal. The teenager, Jamil Reyes, was socializing with friends in Roaring Creek when he came under a vicious attack. He was brutally beaten and shot to the back of the head. If that was not enough, he was buried in a shallow grave and left to die, but he managed to crawl out and sought help at the nearest house. Police have since charged eighteen-year-old Aaron Hyde for the attempted murder of Reyes. News Five’s Duane Moody was in Roaring Creek and has the following report.

Duane Moody, Reporting

Fifteen-year-old Jamil Reyes is clinging to life at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital after he was shot to the back of the head on Saturday afternoon. The Roaring Creek resident underwent what can only be described as a Rated R scene that nearly cost him his life. According to his aunt, he was hanging out with friends near a shallow area of the river behind the village, but that ended with Jamil being badly beaten before he was shot to the back of the head and buried in a shallow grave. Even with his injuries, the minor made his way out of the grave and to a nearby house for help.

Deshawn Card

Deshawn Card, Aunt-in-law of Shooting Victim

“He wasn’t only shot. Jamil was badly beaten; badly beaten. He took lick to the back of his head; he had bruises in the face, in the back, in the belly. Jamil was badly beaten and what kills us as the family is that we don’t know who did it and what is their reason for doing it and we are still baffled. He is in the hospital right now as we speak battling for his life. Even with the gunshot, Jamil was already buried. They buried Jamil in a shallow grave. That young man managed to crawl out of that grave. He had mud under his fingernails; he had cuts to his nail, cut to his foot where he struggled to reach the nearest home.”

Reyes was rushed to the Western Regional Hospital where he was treated before he was transported to the medical facility in Belize City. Deshawn Card says that they are unaware of what could have led to this assault on Reyes.

Jamil Reyes

Deshawn Card

“Clearly yes they are his friends; the ones he went to the river with, yes they are his friends.”

Duane Moody

“It is believed that they were the ones that administered that beating to him?”

Deshawn Card

“We can’t say for sure because right now it is a whole lot of speculation. So we cannot really say if they did or they did not so the family still di wait fi hear what really took place.”

Reyes, we are being told arrived at the Western Regional Hospital conscious and was able to identify the shooter to the police before he slipped into a coma. That person was detained shortly after and the firearm retrieved.

Joseph Myvett

ACP Joseph Myvett, Head, National Crimes Investigation Branch

“He was approached by one Aaron Hyde who fired one single shot causing the injury. Quick police investigation led to the detention of Hyde and the recovery of a [point] twenty-two pistol. He has since been charged today with the crime of attempted murder, dangerous harm and use of deadly means of harm.”

Even though there is some relief that the accused killer, an eighteen-year-old from the village has been charged, the family continues to pray for a full recovery for Reyes, who remains in a critical condition.

Aaron Hyde

Deshawn Card

“He’s been given a fifty-fifty chance of survival and right now as we speak, he’s being taken to do another cat-scan to see if the bullet can be removed from his head because they were waiting to see if the swelling could go down so they could do a surgery.”

Police say the shooting was motivated by a previous misunderstanding between Hyde and Reyes. Duane Moody for News Five.