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Daniel Ortiz explains how this almost unbelievable crime unfolded:...

Daniel Ortiz reporting
25 year-old Cannon Augustine Obispo, a resident of Teakettle Village, went on what only be described as a robbery spree.??Just before 10 a.m., he reportedly walked into the clothing store, Classics, and asked to try on $210 worth of brand new clothes: an undershirt, a dress shirt, a pair of pants, a pair of socks shoes, and a pair of tennis shows. The vendor who out outfitted then asked him to pay for the items, but he walked out of Classics without handing over any money.??The vendor saw that he was walking over to the Scotia Bank across the street, and so he waited outside, thinking that Obispo went there to withdraw money to pay for the clothes.??We're told that Obispo then joined the line like any other customer, and while he was nearing the front, he walked up to the counter while another customer was making a cash deposit. He then grabbed a large amount of money, $6,500 dollars, and fled the bank.

Supt. Howell Gillett - OC, Belmopan Police
"He allegedly went to Scotia Bank. A customer was depositing some money and he grab that money from the counter where the customer was depositing and ran towards Slim Lane."

But before he ran off, he still had to deal with the vendor from Classic who was waiting to be paid for the clothes he stole. When he approached Obispo, the alleged thief pulled out a machete he had tucked away, and he brandished it at the man to try to scare him off.

That's when an on-duty Belmopan Police Officer passed by, and he was alerted to the two robberies Obispo had reportedly committed. He pursued the alleged robber through the parking lot, all the way onto Slim Lane. Obispo ran to this intersection, where the officer tried to detain him. The officer shot him because Obispo assaulted him.

Supt. Howell Gillett - OC, Belmopan Police
"An on-duty police officer was nearby and the matter was reported to him and he pursued the guy towards Slim Lane. He went on the opposite side near Ministry of Works where he encountered the guy. The man had a machete with him and the police engaged with this person and he was shot in the abdomen and in the left leg. The total sum of money has reported stolen is $6,500.00. We so far have recovered $5,500.00 of that money, so somewhere between the bank and where he was engage with the police he got rid of $1,000.00. The police who initially responded to the scene was injured in the neck area and other parts to the body. He is now seeking medical attention at the Western Regional Hospital."

As noted in our interview, Belmopan police are trying to locate the missing $1,000 cash that he managed to get rid of before he fought and struggled with the police officer. We're told that the vendor from the clothing store chased after Obispo and he was the one who alerted the officer that the man was a thief.

Obispo suffered 3 gunshot injuries to the abdomen and the leg, and he is in a critical condition. He had to be transferred from the Western Regional Hospital to the KHMH, which is where he is tonight.

If he makes it, Belmopan Police expect to charge him as he gets out of the hospital. They will seek to bring robbery charges against him, but they will have to seek the advice of the DPP on that because while he was armed with a machete, he didn't actually use it to steal the clothes or the money. He only used it to scare off the vendor he'd ripped off, and to try to resist arrest. As to the actual fight he had with the officer, he can possibly be looking at assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest, aggravated assault and possibly attempted murder. It all depends on the advice of the DPP, but he is accused of injuring the officer who shot him as a last resort. That officer had to go to the Western Regional Hospital for medical treatment.

Obispo has had a previous run-in with the law; he was accused of raping a 62 year-old Canadian woman in front of her husband at their Freetown Sibun home on October 12, 2009. He walked on that charge in the Supreme Court because the victim moved back to Canada and couldn't make it down to Belize to testify in the case against him. The crown counsel was forced to nolle prose the case in July of last year, allowing Obispo to go free.