Narrow Escape in Lake Independence Shooting

Rasheed Coffin

An attempt on the lives of two young men last night has an entire family in Lake-I fearing for their safety after bullets tore through their home.  When the shooting subsided, two persons were injured and bullet holes riddled their house. News Five’s Isani Cayetano has that story.

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

A pair of young men narrowly escaped with their lives on Tuesday night when they came under gunfire as they stood on Estella Metzgen Street.  The incident happened in the Lake Independence area sometime around eight-thirty p.m., when nineteen-year-old Rasheed Coffin was blindsided by an unknown attacker.

Voice of: Rasheed Coffin, Shooting Victim

“We just mi di do weh we mi di do and then ih look like when I walk up, down di street ih look like maybe di people dehn mi deh eena di area.  So when I di hand he my phone di shots dehn just staat to fyah and when di shots dehn fyah my next move da mi fi try escape.”

Coffin ran for cover but not before being hit in the right elbow.  His friend, twenty-year-old Eric Castillo, with whom he was standing in front of this residence, was shot in the back.  The homeowner told News Five off-camera that as many as sixteen shots were fired in their direction.  A majority of those rounds perforated the walls, damaging household appliances inside the house.

Voice of: Homeowner

“I wasn’t here physically when it happened but as soon as it happened my neighbors got in contact with me and they told me that my house got shot up and they even said that my kids got shot up.  I know my kids dehn usually deh inside, dehn da noh trouble man.  So I just rush from out deh because I da wahn food vendor and I rushed from Mahogany Street cohn sih weh really happen.  When I cohn I sih police di comb di area, di street dehn and ova da open lot deh soh and, yoh know.  I just fed up, I noh know what else fi do or what else fi she because this da di second time round and then now my grandkids dehn mi deh ya last night, so that mek it even worse fi me as wahn mother and grandmother.”

According to Coffin, the barrage of gunfire initially sounded like firecrackers, until he felt a burning sensation in his right arm.

Voice of: Rasheed Coffin

“When I feel shot da then when I get di sense that da shot because I mih think that da dynamite.  I get di sense that da shot and then I staat run but then I mi done get one already but I neva sure how much I get soh I just run fi mek I noh leff down deh.”

Isani Cayetano

“At this point, do you fear for your safety, I mean, this just happened last night and you’re back home again.  Do you feel as though at this present moment your life is still in danger?”

Voice of: Rasheed Coffin

“Everybody life eena danger da Belize ya.  Yoh just haffu stay inside.”

The damages to her appliances will set this owner back a few hundred dollars as her business as a food vendor is directly affected.

Voice of: Homeowner

“We da food vendors and if fu we items dehn noh get sell we haffi bring that home.  I noh have no where fi store it due to weh di refridge get messed up, yoh undastand mih, I noh really got nowhere fi store it, fi store di chicken dehn and as you sih, you cohn and I di clean my chicken and what’s not fi goh out deh later.  So, I noh know, I just have to buy sohn more ice and put toppa it, but di main thing I wahn do da fence my yard.”

Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.