A Police-Involved Shooting in Ladyville; 1 Suspect under Police Guard

Wilfredo Ferrufino

There is a criminal and an internal investigation ongoing following a police-involved shooting on Sunday night in Ladyville. According to police, Shawn Lanza remains under police guard at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital recovering from a gunshot wound he sustained at the hands of an officer responding to a burglary. Lanza and another suspect, who escaped during the shooting, were caught in the act. Police set chase after the men who tried to escape on a motorcycle prior to the shooting. Inspector Wilfredo Ferrufino explains.

Insp. Wilfredo Ferrufino, C.I.B., Belize City

“Police were responding to a burglary in progress when they encountered two male persons on a motorcycle. When police tried to detain the two persons, they got off the bike in their attempts to flee. They pointed what appeared to look like a firearm to the officer and the officer shot that individual. He received a single gunshot wound to the right leg; Shawn Lanza, thirty-one-year-old is the individual who got shot. The matter is being looked at by the Professional Standards Branch. And we will give you an update whenever that investigation is through.”