Man who killed high school teen charged with Manslaughter
ibrahim smith
The man who was charged with shooting and killing a minor last week was back in court today. Eighteen year old Ibrahim Smith was formally arraigned for the November sixteenth Manslaughter of a Sadie Vernon High School Student, seventeen year old Shenelle Reyes in the court of Senior Magistrate Sharon Frazer. The eighteen year old, an unemployed man of Mopan Street, was also charged with Possession of a Prohibited Firearm and Handling Stolen Goods for a sixteen gauge sawed off shot gun belonging to Steve Young. Young identified the shotgun as the licensed weapon that was stolen from his home. According to police investigation, Smith was playing with the gun at Reyes’ home and pointed it at her. Shenelle allegedly hit the gun and told Smith not to play with it in her mother’s house. That’s when the weapon discharged and caught the high school student in her chest and killed her. Smith fled the scene and threw the shotgun in a nearby yard where the police recovered it the morning after the shooting. He was denied bail due to the nature of the offenses and remanded to the Hattieville Prison until December twenty first.
It’s sad that the media would address this young boy as a man. He’s not a man. Things and accidents happen in this world. No body knows what mistake or mishap would change their lives. I think this boy is innocent. The person that the law enforcement should charge is the owner or owners of the gun.
My sympathy and love goes out to Shanelle’s family, but my sympathy and love also goes out for Abrahrim because, he’s just another youth that was neglected by his parents, family, community and the Government of Belize. I know it seems like we the viewers of the news are always ready to jump the gun and blame the government, but like it or not, it’s true, what is the government doing to the violence that is occuring in Belize?
I know that this accident took a life, but it was an honest accident and Abrahim should be given another chance to make some thing of the life that God has given him. It should not be taken away because of a mistake. I’m sure, that he did not intend to kill Shonelle and/or might not have known that the gun was loaded.
Research has shown that children do things they see in their surroundings and environment. Maybe, this young boy has seen and heard all the violence that the older youths and men that are in his community and thought it’s okay to play with a deadly weapon since he sees such actions all the time in his surroundings. Law Enforcement should really questions the parents and community that this boy resides in.
May God continously bless and make a way for Belizeans to florish and enjoy the life that he has given us. In these evil times it’s hard to believe that peace and prosperity exist, but it does. You just have to fight, keep your head up high and know who you are in God.
Blessings and love to all the clean hearted people! We all have a chance to change our lives and other that are sent our way before it’s too late.
Tillett
Katara, what was he doing with a shotgun in the first place? where did he get it? im twice his age and i neva hold a shotgun in my life before and know that if u play with fire, you must get burn.
Katara, Thanks for your perspective but an eighteen year old is able to vote & make decisions that are legally binding, good & bad. Many of us grew up in homes with guns, shot guns to be specific & managed to not shoot anyone or ourselves. Neglect is not a defense for murder/manslaughter in this case. We make choices, he made several poor choices that resulted in someone’s death & he deserves to go to jail. But I love your spirit.
Proud Belizean, you are right, “What is he doing with that gun???”
Katara, he is not a little kid, he is big enough to fire a gun and kill someone. He should know better not to play with guns. He is not innocent as you thought!
Proud Belizean, I’m happy that you never held a gun in your life. Unfortunately, because of neglect this young boy did and now has to face what’s ahead of him. I think all your questions that you’ve noted should be referred to this childs parent, family and community. Another youth was taken away for no reason, so should we stand and agree to take away another youth time and life and not give him a chance to learn from his mistake. If this was his second offense then I could see that this is the road he choose, but it’s his first and it was an accident. This accident didn’t have to happen if the adults in this child’s life were resonsible enough to not have weapons were young children are. Don’t you agree that this youth should be given another chance? We were sent her to up lift not break down a brother or sister.
I believe that Abrahim is innocent and I stand behind it in Spirit.
With love to all,
Tillett
this is a case we all need to look into….. do you people ever look at the men and women in belize who are in there thirties twenties and pre teen? and try to figure out what they lack growing up to cause them to act a certain way? this is not a fact , but i believe that 40% of these people in the particular age group, 1 grew up with one or no parent. an aunt or uncle who have other kids to raise, so they raised them selves. poor liveing. and little to no education needed to better there self…….. my belize need a over haul from front to back top to bottom…. we need to invest or time , love, hearts, money. and everything else that might be needed into turning out country around..even if it means killing all who kill….and makeing certain small crime a bigger offence…….
Katara it seems that your reasoning is clouded by your ignorance with regards to firearms.
Guns do not accidentally go off, you have to pull the trigger in order to fire that weapon and pulling the trigger is a deliberate action unless you are Plaxico Burress.
This is not a child, this is an 18 year old criminal who possibly stole the weapon, made it a prohibited firearm by cutting the barrel and certainly carried it around with him.
I grew up with firearms, started shooting at age 12 and have never had an “accident” with any of them or have ever shot anyone or anything I wasn’t sure I wanted to shoot.
Do not blame the gun, blame the scumbag that stole it, sawed it off and totted it around playing cowboy. They should send him to jail for a long time.
BTW at 18 he is a man not a child. Last time I checked children are not allowed to vote etc etc etc
katara
part of what you say is right BUT sometimes we as a teen at that age we did decision which now we live on. so if at that age you can’t decide for yourself and what goes around you everyday who else is going to make it. so please don’t call this guy a innocent, he knew the purpose of pointing a gun to someones face and why he did it? couldn’t he figure out that a gun can kill, living in poverty or broken family can only contribute 50% he had chances to decide what to do with the gun on his hands. so i don’t blame family issues because at 18 come on you’re not a 14 yr old kid, he knew what he was doing only maybe he never thought that it might happen for reall but it did. so let he be taken to court and charge accordingly
Circumstance made me what I am.. i am not a violent man…. I sure i heard this in a song somewhere…. Please don’t judge…when we say child.. it means in MIND, not age. I agree with you Katara Tillett. Others are quick to judge but not quick to help a child with food, clothing, education, or just a loving embrace.
The kid was probably showing off thinking it’s cool, or having the weapon in his possesion makes him a man. Whatever his motives were, a teenage girl is dead because of it. I don’t believe it was an accident. An accident is getting struck by lightning, or a tree falling on your house or car due to a storm. Pointing a shot gun at someone that is not causing you harm or is not an imminent threat, is negligence. We all know what a gun is capable of. As kids growing up, we saw all the cowboy and western, and all the other violent movies where guns in most cases is the wheapon of choice. You live and you learn from your mistakes. Hope this kid learned his. : – (
I am the uncle to Shennell Reyes.
I understnad everything everyone is saying but the facts is the facts, my niece (Shenell Reyes)
told the boy not to play with a gun in front of her and even worst in her mother’s house, so to me i think he MEANT TO KILL MY NIECE.
Belize is going through hard times but thats not a reason to shoot an innocent child.
shoot the one who u get the gun from.
i 100% believe and kno that he should be charge for murder no less.
i live in America ( Oakland CA)
and stuff like this dont happend here as an accident.
i would like for real and serous justice to prevail to this situation, 1st offense or not he know he has a REAL GUN, so theirfore he will do REAL DAMMAGE to someone, poor poor excause , there is withness that he was told to leave the premises, also he never did.
well we cannot turn back the hanes of time but i wish i could.
he is a bad bad young man and should be dealt with ASAP.
May My niece rest in peace, and may this be the end of this commentary, in respect to my niece and my family.
Jeremiah Burke