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Mass Shooting Injures 4, Kills 1; Target Says Shooters Need "Practice"
posted (June 18, 2012)
And while the murder of a doctor is making the headlines tonight - the disturbing crime pattern continued this weekend in the city. Seven persons were shot - four of them in a single incident. It happened on Neal Pen Road - which has recently flared up as a hotspot. As we found out today - the community is surrounded by violence because former neighbors and friends have now become bitter rivals at very close range.

Here's the story:

Jules Vasquez reporting
Today police and BDF patrolled Maksall Street and Neal Pen Road - establishing a visible presence in the embattled neighborhood - and at the Living Hope Preparatory School.

That's because the area is red hot: five people were shot between the school and the basketball court in less than 24 hours.

It started on Friday night at 7:15 when a group of men and one teenaged female were on the verandah at Living Hope Preparatory School, hanging out and drinking.

The area looks bright in the day - but at night, these streetlights don't work; it is pitch dark.

Two gunmen utilized the darkness to creep up from behind the building. After that they opened fire injuring 20 year-old Elvis Olivera, 16 year-old Kenya Brown, 24 year-old Fenton Maskall, and 21 year old Joseph Myers.

But they missed their target, Danny Maskall; he asked to appear off camera:

Voice Of: Danny Maskall - Intended Target
"Suddenly, 2 gunmen came and just opened fire on us, but it was like about 4 of them. So they men just opened fire on us."

Voice Of Fenton Maskall - In KHMH, Grazed Lung "The first thing I saw was only the fire. And when the first shot came, it started to come from both corners. They were cornering of us because the building is round with a verandah. They cornered of us, and that's when the shots started to fire. My brother ran because it was my brother who was the target. I don't know how the men missed him still. He was the direct one; he was the only one, but the man shot at him and missed him. That's when the next 3 ended up getting hit."

Voice Of: Danny Maskall - Intended Target
"From there, my little brother ran out, and from there, the gunmen cleared the scene. I came out back and shouted for everybody. I saw my little brother walk toward me with a gunshot in his back. I saw a next guy with 2 in his chest, so I tried my best to keep two of them awake. At one point, my little brother seemed to die on me; he went, and I just brought him back. I hit him in the chest, and that's how he began to breathe."

Jules Vasquez
"How do you mean; did he stop breath completely?"

Voice Of: Danny Maskall - Intended Target
"Yes, his eyes were opened, but he stopped breathing completely in my hand. I hit him in his chest, and that's how he started to catch his breath."

Voice Of Fenton Maskall - In KHMH, Grazed Lung
"I woke up like on the boulevard. When I woke up, I saw lots of lights from lamp posts passing by, and then from there, it got hazy. From there, I started to pass out again, and he started beating me in my chest. 'Don't do that.' He said, 'Don't give up on your brother.'"

Voice Of: Danny Maskall - Intended Target
"At the same time, when the next guy fell, his sister had him, and I had my brother, but the two of us were trying to keep them awake in the mobile. That's how we reach hospital and that's when I heard one of my friends just died. My little brother made it, somehow, thanks to God. That's it right there."

Jules Vasquez
"Now, the talking is that it's you they were looking for."

Voice Of: Danny Maskall - Intended Target
"Yes, it's me they were targeting, but I was right in front of the fools, and they didn't even see me. I was right in front of the idiots them; they are all fake gunmen. I was right in front of them dressed in red, and they didn't see where I was, none of them."

Jules Vasquez
"You must be afraid now."

Voice Of: Danny Maskall - Intended Target
"I am not afraid of anything; afraid of what? I was afraid, I would have been afraid on that night. I am not 'jumpy', never 'jumpy.' This is the 9th time that they came to kill me, and they still can't catch me yet. So, I am not afraid. I am okay. It's all non-shooters; they need a lot of training. They are weak. It's me they wanted to shoot."

Marion Ali - Love News
"So are you in hiding now?"

Voice Of: Danny Maskall - Intended Target
"I am not in any hiding. I just moved out of Belize City a while ago. Before anything started to happen, I moved out of the city. I am in no hiding, hide from what?"

No hiding, but to protect his family he does live out of the city. Maskall had only arrived in Belize two hours earlier:

Voice Of: Danny Maskall - Intended Target
"I left for 2 months; I don't even live in the city. I just came in to just hang out with my family and socialize with them for the weekend. I was going right back. The next day I was going, Saturday. So the men look like they heard I was here, and from the time I reach, they already knew I was here."

And the wrong man, Joseph Meyers was killed because of it:

Voice Of: Danny Maskall - Intended Target
"He was the first man they shot, and I know they never wanted to shoot him. I know that they must be crying why they shot him. They must regret what they did. They never wanted to shoot him, but now he is dead, and they must be wondering. And I was right there; I know that this is what must burn them, that I was right there and they shot the wrong man. It's they were aiming for, and they could have looked at me, shot me and killed me, but they are weak."

24 year old Meyers was the father of two. His sister who lives a few houses away, saw him minutes earlier and had a sense of foreboding

Keisha Myers Coye - Sister of Deceased
"I passed him again. I told him, 'Chino, Romel is at home; go and meet him.' That's what I told him."

Jules Vasquez
"You said that because?"

Keisha Myers Coye - Sister of Deceased
"I saw a certain young man there. He said, 'I'm okay, I'll wait until you pass back'. I went ahead to the Chinese shop to buy. While standing at the shop, I head a few shots, and the first thing that went on my mind was my little brother. But I didn't pay it any mind; I still stood there, but its' like I couldn't order the food that I wanted. A few seconds went, and I said, 'If my phone rings, I know that it's my brother'. But still yet, I was praying to myself. I suddenly heard my phone, and I said, 'Oh, my Lord.' I took my phone out of my pocket. I looked at the number and saw that it was my husbands. He said, 'Babe, where are you? Come home now.' Before I rode off from the Chinese shop, I saw this police vehicle passing. The honest truth, I saw this tennis shoe hanging out of this truck. I looked at that tennis shoe and thought to myself that it looked just like my brother's shoe. I said, 'Keisha, think positive.' That's what I was saying to myself."

But there was no positive outcome to look forward to - he died a short while later in surgery

Keisha Myers Coye - Sister of Deceased
"They said, 'I'm sorry, but your brother is dead.'"

Inspector Fitzroy Yearwood - Police Press Officer
"We have since arrested and charged 3 persons with murder and 3 counts of attempt murder. These persons are William Vasquez, Andy Forbes , aka 'Ants Head' and a guy, Harris."

And now, this sister must live with the knowledge that they killed the wrong man - but killed him with conviction - Maskall tells us what he heard the shooters say:

Voice Of Fenton Maskall - In KHMH, Grazed Lung
"The next one was saying, 'Finish him! Finish him! Finish him, and hurry up!'"

Keisha Myers Coye - Sister of Deceased
"I know that he wasn't the intended target; I know this for a fact. But he got too many shots, as what the police said when they went to view the body. I know; probably, it's because they know that he saw them, and they thought that he could call out there names or something like that. I would never say that my brother is totally innocent because everybody has their faults. His life was cut short by just loving friends. He loved friends. You would say that he was at the wrong place at the wrong time."

Jules Vasquez
"How does that make you feel to know that they were going for somebody else, and your brother got mercilessly killed, just being at the wrong place at the wrong time?"

Keisha Myers Coye - Sister of Deceased
"Well, I feel hurt, yes. I can't say that I don't feel hurt, but as of right now, you seem me strong; I just have to be strong for my mom because she needs me right now. So, I just ask God for the strength, and the guidance to take my family and me through this grieving time."

Jules Vasquez
"Do you feel any anger toward those who wrongly killed your brother?"

Keisha Myers Coye - Sister of Deceased
"Honestly, no, I don't feel any anger; I just pray for them."

And while she prays for her brother's killers, the Living Hope School prays that none of its students get hurt. The building is marred with multiple bullet holes:

Francisca Lacayo - Principal, Living Hope
"We are very concerned, yes."

Principal Francisca Lacayo was consoled by the strong police presence today:

Francisca Lacayo - Principal, Living Hope
"Well, it helps; we feel safe, and we are relying on God's protection because this school belongs to him. Indeed, we are concerned, and we are very thankful to the Government for the policing in this area at this time. Seeing the police around at this time, gives them a bit of security. We are doing the final exams right now, and they will be out of this place very soon."

A place marred by gun violence; Frank Vasquez was killed here six weeks ago - and now his brother Billy has been charged for this murder:

Inspector Fitzroy Yearwood
"We believe that by arresting this group for that crime, we can bring some form of relief to the residents. We are still investigating another shooting incident that took place on Saturday, but we must say that we are getting the full cooperation of the neighborhood because these people are tired of this ongoing rivalry between 2 groups who live not too far from each other."

Voice Of Fenton Maskall - In KHMH, Grazed Lung
"This is not the first time that shooting happen at us. It's not the first or the second. It's a regular, routine thing. The building where the school is, that got shot up too. If you go there, you can see all the bullet marks on that. That was like after 6 in the evening. It didn't even get dark yet. The sky was just starting to look blue when he came. And when they come, they don't worry about who or what because all of us were born and raised together. One of them practically lives in one my cousin's house, and he still doesn't care. All of us are friends; we used to be until when they chose to start a rivalry because Penn Road was never a place that it was a hotspot."

A hotspot Danny Maskall will leave again, but he's not running:

Voice Of: Danny Maskall - Intended Target
"I will have to stay away a little while now. That's what my family wants me to do because it's me they want, but they are weak. So I might-as-well just listen to my family because I am not afraid. I want to stay, but they don't feel safe. If I go, maybe they feel better."

This afternoon, 28 year-old Andy Alexander Forbes, 28 year-old William Robert Vasquez, and 25 year-old Clinton Harris were arraigned jointly for the murder of Joseph Myers, and 2 counts of attempted murder, which they allegedly committed against Fenton Maskall and Kenya Brown.

They were remanded to prison until July 18. All 3 are represented by attorney Simeon Sampson.

Maskall remains hospitalized in stable condition while Kenya Brown and Elvis Olivera have been treated and released. Police recovered two black ski masks at the scene.

Everyone we spoke with commended the police for an almost instantaneous response.

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