7 News Belize

Bullets Blast Through Belama Home
posted (April 18, 2012)
Violence has flared up in the city over the past two weeks - particularly on the Southside. But last night, gunshots were heard on the Northside in the Belama area.

Juanita Lopez's home on Albert Hoy Street was riddled with gunshots - and today - asking to appear off camera - she told Monica Bodden about her harrowing experience:

Monica Bodden Reporting:

This two story concrete home is situated in this quiet residential neighborhood in Belama Phase 3.

But last night at 10:30, the silence was broken when gunmen opened fire on the lower flat of the house.

At least 12 shots were fired - 11 of those piercing through the walls and windows of the house.

Inside at the time was Juanita Lopez - a single mother who resides at the resident along with her 3 children.

The incident happened a little after 10 last night -while Lopez was lying in her couch watching the news. She told us of her ordeal off camera:

Juanita Lopez - Unknown Assailants Shot Up Her House
"I was sitting in my window facing the street, and at about 7 minutes past 10, I heard a loud bang. I recognized that it was a gunshot, and I fell to the ground for protection. I lay on the floor, and right after the first one, the shots kept coming. I counted about 6 shots, and after that, there was silence. Meanwhile, I saw one of my daughters coming from her bedroom, and I saw her go on the floor. After I heard the silence, I went and I told them to stay behind because I didn't know what was happening outside. I told my daughter to call 911. She asked me what the emergency, and I told her that it's gunshots. We got through to the operator, and she asked us if anyone was hurt. We told her no. We told her that we saw two people outside, and she asked us to looked out to see if anyone was injured on the streets. While going toward the door, my son pointed out a bullet hole on the frame of the door. I told them that I thought it was a stray bullet, and when my son opened the door, and he looked outside, he pointed all these bullet holes on the front of my house. That's when I realized that it was my house that they were shooting at. The police came, and while going around looking for bullet holes and slugs, that's when we discovered the window on the side of the house having a bullet hole also. We didn't see that before; they shot the side and the front of the house."

After the incident, Lopez counted at least 11 bullet holes that pierced her walls, door and glass windows.

Juanita Lopez
"11 entries from outside, and then some of them came through the window, entered my walls, one my daughters bedroom's walls, went through that wall and went into my other daughter's room. Then, the slug that came from the side went through and landed in my son's room wall, but that was away from where he was - so 11 from outside - eleven entries."

Today Lopez is still left to wonder who would want to do such a thing? And is there someone out there trying to kill them? And for what reason? Or was it even just a random act of someone being simply trigger happy?

Juanita Lopez
"I have no idea because, as I said before, I'm here. Everybody can tell you, most of the time, I'm at home. As a matter of fact, when I heard the gunshots, I told her to call the police because we heard shooting outside. It wasn't until we got on the verandah that I realized that it was my house that they shot up. For what reason, I don't know. So, all I can do now is to leave it in the hands of the police to let them do their investigation."

But today Lopez is lucky to be alive. The chair she was sitting in had a bullet hole just above it - where her head was resting just moments before the shooting.

Juanita Lopez
"Even it wasn't directly through my head, it would have been my forehead or something, because the way I was sitting, that's where I sit every night. So, for some reason, just before that, I decided to lie back because normally. I sat up. When I heard my daughter come home, I got up and opened the door for her. So, I guess that it was just my lucky night. Considering the amount of shots that came in fired, yes because normally, it's my son and I who are out here in the living room, or my other daughter - if she comes from work. When she comes from work, she has preparations to - for the next day at her job. She'll be sitting at the table, so normally, it would be at least - out of the 4 of us in the family, and there would be at least 3 of us sitting in this living room at night time because that's what we do. We talk about the day, and then my other daughter would be in her room doing her homework or whatever. So, I consider my family very lucky. The shock didn't really hit me until this morning. It's like to see how much you must show appreciation for your family, every day, because my children could have been preparing my burial today. That's how I see it, and that's how I'll put it because when my son came out and saw where that bullet hole was, the expression my son's face, and the tears that came to his eyes, I was still in shock, but he realized it right away where I was sitting. I could have been hit, if I didn't make that decision to lie down."

Lopez has three children, the youngest 17 and the oldest 25. Police have not made any arrests.

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