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A man was shot by police in his home in Trial Farm village, outside Orange Walk Town yesterday. 47 year old Wilbert Guerra was in his room when the police went looking for him. He was being sought by police for making sexual advances on a young girl. But when the officers tried to detain him it turned into a struggle – which ended up in Guerra being shot by a police revolver. Our colleagues at CTV3 spoke to the father and he told them in Spanish that the officers had no reason to shoot his son.

Translated from Spanish to English….

Inocencio Guerra - Father

"When I went out, I spoke to the guy who came here in front and he told me that my son told his daughter some bad words, so it stayed like that, now the guy told me that he went to call the police and I said well call the police and take my son. Good. So he left and I came back inside. And then it took about half an hour when the police came in, my son was in that room and so the police came and I invited them in. So they asked me where my son is and I told them he was in the room. Then they told me to call him and so I went and told my son "Boy the police came to look for you ". When he came out he came out with a stick and something else I don't know when the police jumped on him and they both went fighting and bumped into that wall where my wife is sitting. But they detained him and everything and then my son stood to one side next to me and the police, and then, the police held the gun at my son and then I said "Don't shoot him, don't shoot him you hear, why are you going to shoot him." I mean at least hit him in the leg or something but then, Pow! They shot him."

"They didn't have the right to shoot him inside, they should have taken him outside and if they had to shoot him, shoot him outside on the street, but not here inside my house for the mom and everyone to see. This is an abuse because they have the law in their hands and they do what they want."

Now Orange Walk police have a slightly different version. The father told us that the officers had already detained his son and that they took away the stick and the machete he came out of the room with -so there was no reason to shoot him. But, the police are saying that even after Guerra dropped those weapons he pulled out a knife - that's when the police shot him in the stomach.

Insp.Selvin Tillet - Officer Commanding, Orange Walk

"Upon arrival at the location, police identified themselves as police officers and 2 adult persons informed the officers that the person was giving trouble inside a room in the house. Police officers went and tried to open the door but it was locked. Police officer requested to the person who was inside the room to step out and about 3 minutes after a male person, who was wearing a pants and had no shirt came out of the room with a machete in his hand and a hatchet in the other hand. The police officers who were inside the hall of the house retreated but the police who was nearest to the room door could not retreat. So when the male person attacked him he shields himself with the M-16 rifle and then the male person dropped the machete and hatchet and held the M-16 with one hand on the butt and the other hand on the barrel."

"The officer than tried to hold him down but he pulled out knife from his pants waist and got up. At this time the police officer shouter knife and they retreated. The male person then attached PC Augustine who ran backwards and asked several times to drop the knife but the person refused to do so. PC Augustine was in fear for his life and when his back was against the wall, the male person was about 4 feet from him and refuse to stop; the police officer fired one single shot from his rifle and the male person fell to the floor."

Police are saying the officer who shot Guerra was only defending himself. Guerra is listed in a critical but stable condition at the Northern Regional Hospital.