One week ago tonight a live grenade was thrown at Comptroller of Customs
Gregory Gibson’s home in the Belama Phase Four area. No one was hurt and
no arrests have been made as the two suspects initially detained by police have
now been released. At a press conference today – the police high command
appealed for information leading to a white car seen speeding away from the
area following the grenade attack. And while the Commander of BATSUB Lt. Col.
Peter Germain confirmed to us last week that the grenade was from a batch issued
to British forces in Belize, what he didn’t tell us was the major difference
between the grenade thrown on top of Gibson’s home and the ones used in
previous attacks. This morning the BDF’s senior bomb expert David Jones
explained the difference.
Major David Jones, Senior Bomb Expert
“It is an enhanced performance grenade which means it is more lethal
than the previous ones used by the British Forces because this particular grenade
is actually able to pierce body armour and it is a radius of about 20 meters
where it is very effective. But the fragments from the grenade normally would
be propelled up to maybe 232 meters, so if it hits anything like wood, concrete,
it would propel those fragments for a long distance. You may have heard that
some houses a distance away, they heard the fragments falling on top of their
roofs. That is because of the type of explosives within the grenade. It is a
combination of RDX and TNT. Had Mr. Gibson been on the top floor that night,
it is very likely he would not have been alive today. It is a very dangerous
grenade and the effects of it are very serious.”
Crispin Jeffries, Commander of Police Operations
“As Major Jones explained, the time delay on grenades is usually five
seconds. This one as he indicated is an enhanced grenade. It is has only a three
second delay. When we looked at the crime scene, the time when it took for the 
grenade to be thrown and the distance that the suspects fled from the scene
to the street side, we were able to determine that it is possible that they
may have been seen and in fact a tall fair skinned male person was seen fleeing
the scene and that is our lead at this time.”
Sr. Supt. James Magdaleno, NCIB - Lead Investigator
“Two persons were detained, questioned, and were released. During
the investigation it was said that a white vehicle fled from the scene after
the explosion. We have since impounded one vehicle but it had to be released
because it did not suit the description given to us. The second vehicle was
found at a garage in Belize City. Again that vehicle was inspected, processed,
and was released because it did not fit the description of the vehicle given
to us during our investigation.”
Gerald Westby, Commissioner of Police
“It is a very serious phenomenon taking place in Belize. I think not
even in the United States you have grenades being thrown. So certainly we will
keep the media informed and we are asking you to help us. The vehicle I understand
had a broken rear windshield. So if you could help us get that information out
there, we would appreciate it so we could probably get some where with the investigation.”
Anyone with information on the grenade attack can contact the lead
investigator Sr. Supt. James Magdaleno directly at Police Headquarters in Belmopan.
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