7 News Belize

16 Year Old Shooting Victim Refutes Police, Tells Truth About Shooting
posted (August 24, 2015)
On Friday night, we told you about 16 year-old Belize City resident Mark Phillips, the youth who police say was shot by one of his friends in the Queen Square Primary School Compound. That's after they allegedly were waiting to ambush another youth - that, police say, went bad when the gun jammed and Phillips was shot by mistake.

Well, since Sunday, his family has been contacting us to try to set the record straight, claiming that police are terribly mistaken, and that they're looking to charge the wrong persons. Today, we got a chance to speak with Phillips at the KHMH, who is still trying to recover from the gunshot injury to his abdomen. Here's what he had to say about the encounter with the shooter who injured him:

Mark Phillips - Shooting Victim
"He and I went into the school yard and he was standing at the gate texting on his phone and I went to see what they wanted. By the time I went there all I heard was a gun crank and I saw my friends ran. I ran too when I heard the first shot and the first shot caught me too. I ran out of the school yard and I yelled out for my family "Danito" and he help me down the street to catch a taxi or a car, but none of that was passing at the time, only a motorcycle. I ended up going on a cycle and I reached the hospital. I lost a lot of blood."

Daniel Ortiz
"Police say that it is one of your friends who was with you shot you and that happened because you were trying to waylay somebody else to try to hurt them. Is that accurate? Is that that the truth?"

Mark Phillips - Shooting Victim
"No that is not the truth. I already heard the news about that. That is not the truth. They were in the yard smoking. He and another were in the yard smoking waiting on a female and then after that I don't know if the female took long to show up, because they ask me if I haven't seen his girl and I tell him no. Then after that I heard the shots shooting off, but none of us had any gun in that yard and none of us fired back any shots. My friends just ran and the gun man ended up escaping."

Kayla Sutherland, Aunt of shooting victim
"The police didn't came and ask us any questions and find out anything about what had happened from his family - nothing like that. They just charged this young man Dwayne, while he was at home with his girl. They wanted to charge Lloyd. He was one of the young man that ran from the man who was shooting. This is not fair. They say that are waiting for my nephew to come out of the hospital to charge him also."

Joseph Nunez - Neighbour
"There is two sides to a story. It's very simple. There is my side, your side and then they have the truth. Listen to me now; this is the truth Lloyd didn't shot anyone. In fact Lloyd was a victim. They chase Lloyd, Barry and they chased the young man Phillips."

Reporter
"Do you know who shot you?"

Mark Phillips - Shooting Victim
"I know who shot me. I saw the person's face and everything."

Reporter
"Has police come and taken your statement?"

Mark Phillips - Shooting Victim
"No, no police come and take my statement yet."

Daniel Ortiz
"So how can they be so sure that your friend shot you?"

Mark Phillips - Shooting Victim
"I am not really sure. They haven't come and take my statement for me to tell them what really went on. But I don't know why they charged my friends too, because it's not them that did that."

Reporter
"How would you say the police came up with that story?"

Mark Phillips - Shooting Victim
"Because they don't like us, or my friends too. Because they claim we are "Gaza" men and we are not "Gaza" men."

Daniel Ortiz
"Police say that the two individuals, the victim and the shooter are connected to gang activity or they are known to police. Is that a wrong characterization? Is that in deed false?"

Kayla Sutherland, Aunt of shooting victim
"I am not saying my nephew is perfect or whatever, because he not too long ago came out of jail. But then all I am saying that he didn't do anything wrong that night. He just went to buy food."

Mark Phillips - Shooting Victim
"I just hang with some of my friends that live around me, because we are brothers too. We just hang around, play and smoked up. One of my friend's girlfriend is like my sister too, so we just talk and hang out like family."

As we told you, police intend to charge all 3 youths with aggravated assault and the shooter will be charged with discharging a weapon in the public.

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