In that story, we referred to another shooting, which happened earlier; it was at 9:40 just seven minutes before Williams was killed. And it is another case of a totally senseless attack with no discernible motive.
The victim is 48 year old Carlos Valle - who works at the Princess. The father of five was in the downtown area of Belize City by Wellworth on his motorbike. He had gone to pick up some food at the hot dog stands near Battlefield Park and was riding alongside a friend when a young man rode up on bicycle and fired a single shot, hitting him in the head.
The shooter is described as a young creole male in a red t-shirt - and police suspect it could be the same shooter as the one in the Williams murder. That is a very distressing possibility but tonight it makes hardly any difference to Valle's family: all they know is that the hardworking man was shot for no reason at all. Tonight, he is on life support; his sister told us more:
Sandra Moguel - Sister
"Actually, right now, he is critical, but stable. He is on a mechanical ventilator, and he's actually fighting for his life right now. Apparently, the bullet actually went through the temple and then came back out, but they were saying that they want to see if the brain stem at the back was affected. So, with that, they will do another CT scan in the morning, and see what is going on with the brain."
Jules Vasquez
"Now Sandra, was this a random or a targeted attack? Did he have enemies? Do you all know anything, anybody who would have wanted him dead?"
Sandra Moguel
"Actually, no he didn't have any enemy. He is actually working at the Princess Casino, and he is well-known there at the cinema, and he has no 'beef' or anything that. He is a family man, work to home. Actually, he just went to get something to eat by the Battlefield Park, and unfortunately, he met his bad luck, but he was shot innocently, indiscriminately. It was a senseless act, because he didn't deserve this. He is not that type of person, and he doesn't go out socializing. Actually, he got shot just because he went to get something to eat."
Jules Vasquez
"How are you all coping with that, what has to be anger, while at the same time, you're dealing with the fact that he is clinging to life right now?"
Sandra Moguel
"Actually, we're holding. Whoever did it, I don't know who did it and why. I just know that my brother was innocently shot for no reason at all, but I don't have any hate. I am no one to judge whoever, I just want that this gun violence stop because it's not like targeting other people and getting at each other anymore. It's like they're shooting the innocent people now, and it's too much. The Government has to do something about it. He didn't deserve this, and it's really said that people are just getting shot just like that now, like animals, worse than animals. You don't deserve that. No one deserves this. I just want this to stop because it's us now, and I don't know who will be next."
Valle manages the Cinema at the Princess. Now, police have not released any statement on the shootings - but we know investigators suspect they could be related - related by the fact that they are random acts of violence targeting innocent individuals.
Police locked down certain known gang affiliates on New Year's Eve to ensure that they would not be involved in violence. Information to us from the streets and police sources suggest that the shootings could be a form of retaliation, not against rival groups, but against the state, against the law, really. If so, it would be a very disturbing trend, but this sort of implosion of violence has happened before.
Presently police do have a suspect - and are seeking this person. Similar Aguila rounds were recovered from both crime scenes.
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