Was shooting victim robber’s accomplice?

Two men attending a wake in Belize City on Sunday night were wounded when a lone gunman used the event to retaliate against his enemies. Sources indicate to News Five that around eleven on Sunday night, family and friends had gathered at a home on Castle Street to mourn the passing of Michael “Papa’ Gladden who was shot and killed last Wednesday. Among the attendees were thirty-two year old Eric Franklin and twenty-five year old Steven James. The two were standing with several others in an alley off Victoria Street when a lone gunman approached and started firing. Franklin was hit in his upper right shoulder while reports to our newsroom say that bullets also struck James in his upper body. Franklin was rushed to the K.H.M.H. for treatment, but we understand James has yet to seek medical attention for his injuries. Based on a description of the attacker, police have since arrested and charged nineteen year old Leon Garcia of Lovely Lane and charged him with attempted murder, use of deadly means of harm, and wounding. As for a motive, we understand the intended target was James as he and Garcia’s brother Jion Bernard were reportedly involved in the previously reported robbery of Tang’s Shop that resulted in the arrest of Bernard. Garcia appeared before Magistrate Dorothy Flowers this morning who remanded him to Hattieville Prison until April third.