Man Shot Dead in Belize City on Thursday Night

Sylvian Swift

The crime wave, at least in the Belize District, has taken off again, with three murders in two days, two of them occurring only seven hours apart on Thursday. The latest killing occurred on the south side of Belize City on Thursday night just before eight on Antelope Street not far from its junction with Central American Boulevard. The incident has the family of Sylvian Swift reeling in disbelief. Swift left home telling his family that he was going to visit his friends up the street, as he normally does after work. But when they heard gunshots coming from the same direction a couple hours later and went outside to check what had happened, they were left in shock to see their loved one on the street. News Five’s Marion Ali reports.

Marion Ali, Reporting

Thirty-year-old Sylvian Swift, also known as Bigs was gunned down shortly before eight on Antelope Street, just three houses from where he lived with his parents and siblings. The incident occurred on the street in front of a yard where Swift frequented when he came home from work.

On Thursday evening, Swift arrived home around five-thirty after taking the city bus from his job at a restaurant in King’s Park. But as soon as he reached home, he told his family he was going to hail his friends up the street. That was the last time they saw him alive. He had gone to the same yard where he went numerous times before and reports are that he and his friends were listening to music.Then, just before eight, a volley of gunshots rang out from the direction that Swift had gone earlier and when his family looked outside, his body lay on the side of the street in front of the yard where he was. It is not certain if the gunman approached the group or was one from the same group, but reports are that police officers who were in a mobile patrol in the area arrived in time to get a glimpse of the gunman and fired shots at him.

Nobody was willing to go on camera when we went to the scene, but from what we learned, Swift was a jovial person who didn’t look for trouble. His family doesn’t know of any problems between him and anyone. Swift was the only son in the family and had one daughter who will turn seven next month.

Marion Ali for News Five.