Eight people, all under the age of 30 were shot in just 26 hours in Belize City this weekend. It happened between Saturday night at 8:00 and Sunday night at 11:30. Miraculously, no one was killed in these three separate shootings that are believed to be connected.
And the connection is gang warfare - which has reportedly erupted between two powerful rival gangs: George Street and Ghost Town.
To tell the story of it all, we begin last night, with the most frightening shooting: wild gunshots at a graduation party. The Diaz family was having a graduation party at the Brown Sugar Marketplace - which is where San Pedro Belize Express is headquartered on North Front Street. The party was very crowded, and at the height of the celebration, armed gunmen strode in and opened fire on the gathering. Reports are that close to a hundred high school students were there, and they suddenly became possible targets for the indiscriminate shooters.
But how did a family function take such a dire turn for the worse? Daniel Ortiz went looking for answers today:
Daniel Ortiz reporting
A broken chair, party decorations on the ground, and a broken plant pot, and large quantity of unused soft drinks, were the only tell-tale signs that a shoot-out had taken place here at the Brown Sugar Mall.
But it wasn't the usual street-side setting - no very far from that. Last night's gathering was for a graduation party, in which 2 high school graduates and a 1 Junior college graduate were being celebrated.
The family which threw the party hadn't the slightest idea that violence of this kind would break out at an event thought to be secured. Still, it did, and turned a night of celebration into an unleashing of public terror where around 100 or so students had to take cover as gunshots rang out.
Gilda Diaz - Threw Graduation Party
"We were having a graduating party. I had two girls graduated from Pallotti on Saturday and a grandson graduating on Sunday from SJC Junior College and so we were extremely proud of them and we said okay we were no going to have one party we are going to have a party for all of you that you can invire your friends. I have my yard and we decided that because there might be lots of kids coming we will find somewhere to have it. My daughter found this place and it really look like a nice place. We thought it was safe. This is a place that tourists come through all the time, its such a nice looking place. But I never thought that having a graduation party would lead to this because they are only kids. They are lets say between 16, 17,18 - those are the ages going up and we had rules, but nothing prepares anybody for something like this."
But apparently, the 2 gunmen who came with 3 other companions, had prepared themselves for what they had to do. They strolled in pretending to be part of the guest list for the party.
Gilda Diaz - Threw Graduation Party
"My granddaughter had taken her friend to her mother downstairs and the boys just passed and said goodnight, five of them, pass her and the lady ask and say do you know them and she said no I don't know them, but figuring it is one of the other kids friends or something and the gunman just came... I don't know, he circled in a circle out there on the patio and started shooting."
And that sent the place into a panic, all the party-goers were terrorized by the spray of bullets fired indiscriminately injuring multiple persons. An hour later, police found 5 people suffering from gunshot injuries, all of them rushed from the party to the hospital:
Gilda Diaz - Threw Graduation Party
"Everybody started running in a different direction away from this door, but when everybody could gather themselves and went outside, everybody was gone and basically it was about 5 of us left here and I was walking around outside and then "oh there is a body out here" and the I started screaming "somebody help this person" and I said "are you alive, are you okay?."
Daniel Ortiz
"No response?"
Gilda Diaz - Threw Graduation Party
"No, I said "move your finger or your eyes" he couldn't do any of those. But he said "ahhh" that's it. I realize he was alive and when I look I started seeing police and we were hollering "call the police." The police came through the back and I told them he is alive take him to the hospital and they called an ambulance and took him over there. We don't know the young man. Unfortunately there is a young man in the hospital that needs at least his family, so if anybody is missing a child, not seeing their son, check the hospital please. He is not doing well."
And so, while Gilda Diaz and her family didn't know the unconscious young man who got shot in the head and the back, police have identified him as 22 year-old Kirk Smith Jr - who is linked with George Street. We've confirmed with KHMH that he is in a very critical condition at intensive care unit. Investigators believe that he was one of the shooters - who ended up getting shot. Notably, police say he had pellets to the head - consistent with a shotgun blast - while nine - 9mm shells were recovered from the scene.
Of note is that Kirk Smith Jr, walked off a murder charge just four months ago. He was acquitted on the 2010 murder of 35 year-old Ian Arnold.
And getting back that shooting, 19 year-old Windell Neal was injured in the abdomen and left leg. 22 year-old Triston Gordon was injured in the back, while 26 year Daniel Cain took pellets to the right leg. The only female in the group to be injured was 21 year-old Adelyn Vernon, who was shot in the left inner thigh.
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