Guatemalan vendor shot

Long before most of us were up this morning, a Guatemalan vendor was getting ready to go out and sell his wares. His day did not go as usual, however, as was he shot and almost killed in an attempted robbery. Ann-Marie Williams has the story.

Ann-Marie Williams

“Police are investigating an early morning shooting incident, which left twenty-seven year old Guatemalan Ziriaco Mejia Hernandez in a critical, but stable condition. According to police the incident occurred right here at the corner of Richard Street and Water Lane in Belize City.”

According to an eye witness who didn’t want to appear on camera, Mejia-Hernandez was carrying his plastic containers he usually sells in a cart and upon turning into Water Lane, was approached by two Creole decent men on bicycles, who wrestled him to the ground in an attempt to rob him.

The eyewitness said when Mejia-Hernandez put up a fight, one of the men pulled a stick from the nearby an open lot, while the other fired a shot which caught him in the left upper arm and lodged in the left side of the chest.

Although it’s not clear if the two robbers escaped with anything of value, what is clear is that police have one of the men they are not naming in custody. Ann-Marie Williams for News Five.

Up to news time, the suspect detained has still not been charged.