2 Elderly Men are Gunned Down Overnight; A Son is missing

Emert Flowers

Tonight, a family is distraught after a lone gunman opened fire on a pair of elderly men, killing a well-known tour guide.  The incident happened on Racecourse Street just before ten o’clock, while Emert Flowers and Dusseldore Waight were socializing at his residence.  It is believed that the deadly attack was a message being sent to Flowers’ son, whose involvement in gang activity may have led to the armed assault on Tuesday night.  This morning, News Five’s Isani Cayetano visited Flowers’ family and spoke with his sister.  Here’s that story.

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

A sixty-two-year-old tour guide is dead and his son, presumably the one to whom this message is being sent, has vanished without a trace.  On Tuesday night, sometime around ten p.m., a volley of shots was let loose inside a property on Racecourse Street.  The deadly shower of bullets struck a pair of elderly men, including Emert Flowers, the father of twenty-three-year-old Kyle Latchman.  Flower’s sister was at home last night when she received a disturbing phone call.

Ann Flowers

Ann Flowers, Sister of Deceased

“I was at home sleeping and a friend of my brother called and said, “They just killed your brother.”

Mott, as Flowers is otherwise known, was sitting in front of his house, along with seventy-seven-year-old Dusseldore Waight when an armed intruder charged into the yard and opened fire on the unsuspecting men.  Upon hearing what happened to her sibling, Ann Flowers immediately reached out to another of her brothers.

Ann Flowers

“I called next door and woke up my other brother and told him and we went over there and I saw his body leaning up.”

Isani Cayetano

“What have you been told?  It’s difficult to understand why anyone would want to attack a sixty-two-year-old, well-known tour guide.  What do you believe would have led to such a heinous act?”

Kyle Latchman

“Well, I was told that my nephew had a problem with someone and they could not find my nephew, as of right now [it’s been] four days, so they went, somebody took a friend to show them where my brother lives and they shot my brother up seven times.”

The bloodstained car seat downstairs of this wooden structure tells the story of the horror that took place here at the hands of an unknown killer.  While the older victim survived the dreadful ordeal, the Flowers family is left to grieve the loss of their loved one who, by all accounts, was never involved in anything that would bring grave harm to himself.

Ann Flowers

“He did not deserve that.  My brother don’t get into nothing with people out there, you know.  Everybody was saying the same thing last night, but behind his son, he ended up getting killed.”

Isani Cayetano

“His son is Kyle Latchman, presumably no stranger to the law.  Describe your nephew for us.”

Ann Flowers

“I love my nephew, but one thing I do not condone is doing wrong.  Whenever you do wrong to people, it will come back to you and this is what’s going on right now.”

Isani Cayetano

“Describe your brother.  Other than what happened with him, explain to us who Emert Flowers was.”

Ann Flowers

“Emert Flowers is my brother.  He tried to get along with everyone that he met in Belize.  He’s been here like fifteen years and he never got caught up with no kind of problem with anyone.  Everyone talks good about my brother and I hate that this happened to him.”

The whereabouts of Kyle Latchman remain unknown.  While the family fears the worst for him, they cannot confirm whether he is dead or alive.  In 2017, Latchman, then eighteen years old, was busted with a bag of weed while riding contrary to traffic on Albert Street.  He was arrested and detained but soon after escaped from lawful custody.  He was later captured and arraigned on several counts in the lower courts.  Latchman, a U.S. citizen, was subsequently offered bail and required to surrender his American passport.  At the time, he told the court that his mother was incarcerated abroad and that he came to Belize to find his father.  His family confirmed with News Five earlier today that while in Belize, Kyle chose to live away from his father and became involved with gang activity.

Isani Cayetano for News Five.