Why kill Leon Humes?

Leon Humes

The weekend’s murder victim is Leon Humes; he was shot on Friday night when he was purchasing food in the Mahogany Street area of the city. A single bullet landed on his head and Humes died within hours during emergency surgery at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. The grieving family says his life could have been saved if he was immediately transferred to the K.H.M.H. Duane Moody reports.

Anna Whyte, Sister of Murder Victim

“One face shot ih get; one face shot weh just burst through ih head. People say when dehn holla Bun, when he swing around, right there.”

Duane Moody, Reporting

An execution style shooting targeted Leon Humes as he was standing outside of Fay-Way Store on Mahogany Street just a couple blocks from where he lived. The twenty-three year old construction worker was purchasing food when a masked gunman approached him from the direction of Jasmine Street firing several shots in his direction; a bullet hit him on his left cheek and exited the right side of his head.

Anna Whyte

“Wah young man run come by our house and say unu go help “Bun.” “Bun” get shot out deh; ih deh pan the ground. And we run out there and ih deh out deh pan di ground.  When we reach out there, wah whole crowd mi deh out deh. Ih mi deh pan di ground; ih mi still yet deh di breathe and everything; the GSU and dehn deh bout. Dehn no want nobody go see ahn, dehn noh want nobody go see ahn. Everybody just start get frustrated because everybody di offer fi help ker di man dah hospital. And dehn noh want we goh see ahn, but we tell ahn dah fi we bredda. Make we move ahn make we ker ahn. If dehn can’t ker ahn make we do it.”

But “Bun”—as he was affectionately known—died, according to police, around two-twenty a.m. while receiving treatment at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. But who would want to kill the Belize City youth? His sister, Anna Whyte says they don’t know him to have any enemies.

Anna Whyte

Anna Whyte

“We noh wah say, my bredda good or bad. We noh know weh ih do when ih deh out deh. But everybody know he dah wah loving person. he always run joke with people, di clown people. Everybody call he di ladies man. Ih just hurt we fi know that we reach out deh before the ambulance and the police dehn noh want make we move ahn fi ker ahn, fi ker ahn dah the hospital.”

The family is of the belief that his life could have been saved if they were allowed to transport their wounded loved one to the hospital.

Anna Whyte

“That dah the only thing weh hurt we cause my lee bredda neva dead out deh dah the chiney. Ih neva dead out deh. Yes we know, everybody know, ambulance noh ker dead body. We reach out deh before the ambulance and dehn noh want we goh see ahn, fi move ahn. Dah human; dah noh know dog. All ah we dah human, everybody have people.”

A post mortem was conducted this afternoon. The family says that while they simply just want to lay the body to rest, they expect that justice will be served.

Anna Whyte

“We noh know eh fi say, we noh know weh fi do; we just di try deal with it and di try bury ahn beucase nothing weh we do wah brign ahn back. If the police dehn give we justice, ih noh wah bring ahn back. So we have to leave it to the lord and he wah deal with justice ina his own hand.”

Another person also purchasing food at the store, according to the family was hit in the shoulder by the hail of bullets…that information, however, was not confirmed by the police.  Duane Moody for News Five.