15-year-old Student Fighting for his Life

Cassman Gill

Another youth lies critically wounded as a result of a mid-afternoon attack on Magazine Road in Belize City. But contrary to other media reports, his father says his son was not involved in any gang-related activity. The family says Cassman Gill loves school. Here’s News Five’s Marion Ali with the story.

Marion Ali, Reporting

Fifteen-year-old Cassman Gill is fighting for his life in the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital – the victim of an attack on Magazine Road – just a few minutes’ walk from his home on Logwood Street.  Gill was targeted shortly before two on Monday afternoon. The student had just left home en route to an event and was walking on Magazine Road toward Cemetery Road when the assailant accosted him on a bicycle. The gunman reportedly pointed a firearm at the teen and fired three shots at him, then rode down Magazine Road and into Banak Street.

A seriously wounded Gill was rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, where he remains in a coma. His father, Cecil Gill vehemently refutes reports in other sectors of the media that his son was in any way tied to gangs. In fact, Gill says Cassman had big plans before his unfortunate shooting.

Cecil Gill, Father of Shooting Victim

“My son is a decent young man, fifteen years old, SJC third form student looking forward to go back to school; [he] wants to go in class; he doesn’t like the virtual set up. He wants to do in-class learning. So he was hoping that that’s what would happen and he wants to be a lawyer. So for them to say that the shooting was gang-related, you know, my son has never been in a gang.   My son doesn’t go out. He stays at home. My son cannot tell you how the neighbour’s yard looks inside.”

Gill says that after a year of being locked down due to COVID, he gave his son permission to attend an event that his classmate was having. And that was when bad luck struck.

Cecil Gill

Cecil Gill

“Before we send them anywhere we want to know the people that they are going around so for being locked down for over a year, we decided that well, ok, we would give him a little break.  Not even five minutes’ walk before he got shot.”

Gill said the prognosis that the doctors gave on his son’s condition is not good.

Cecil Gill

“My son is hanging by a thread. According to the doctor, if he survives, he might not walk. He has two spinal injuries.  It’s devastating to the family because I left him here healthy and when I saw him again he was hooked up on tubes – tubes all over him.”

The assault on the teen has prompted this angry father to react to perpetrators of gun violence who commit random attacks on civilians, since this is what he believes happened to his son.

Cecil Gill

“These people, they don’t know what they put families through when they do this. If you have a problem with someone, deal with who you have the problem with. Don’t go around just shooting innocent people; picking on innocent people. Deal with the person that you have the problem with.”

Information reaching our newsroom indicates that Cassman Gill may have been yet another victim of the over-used term “mistaken identity. Reporting for News Five, I am Marion Ali.

Police reportedly found one Aguila brand-expended shell at the scene, but have no suspects at this time.