7 News Belize

Security Guard Viciously Executed Because He Made Complaint Against Robber
posted (July 11, 2016)
It was another deadly weekend - one that saw three murders, two in the city and one in Roaring Creek. We begin in the city where residents were still shell shocked from a mid week murder spree that saw three successive killings on Wednesday evening. We went into the weekend with the news that all the gangs had taken into mediation sessions, so there was the hope for peace…but it was shattered early on Saturday morning when 15 shots were used to kill 40 year old Karim Hafiya - a security guard who was getting home after a long night shift.

Police say that it was an act of retaliation for making a complaint that sent one young man to jail - two from his crew decided that was worth killing him for. 7News was on the scene on Saturday and here's the story:...

40 year old Karim Hafiya, or "Buzzard" as he was more commonly known, was gunned down in front of the gate to his apartment on Plues street.

The murder happened around 4 on Saturday morning a little past the break of dawn. Police responded quickly to reports of shots being fired in the area.

But when they arrived it was only to transport a dead body to the morgue- Hafiya had already succumbed to his injuries.

Reports are that the deceased was coming home from work and was about to open the gates to his apartment, when a gunman approached him from behind and released a barrage of bullets in his direction.

At this time it is unclear just how many times Hafiya was shot, but 15 expended shells were recovered from the scene.

But just what lead to such a violent attack on this 40 year old security guard and father of 4 children?

Well although he was murdered on the turf of the George Street Gang, the incident, according to investigators, was not gang related.

ACP Chester Williams- O. C. Eastern South
"This one is a stunning one to us like you rightly said. We are still trying to figure out what went wrong there. Mr. Hafiya has been in that area for quite some time now and if you recall 2 weeks ago he was robbed in that same area and the perpetrator of that crime is currently in prison. That is one angle we are looking at. The next angle we are looking at is the fact that we have been made to understand that he had a dispute with a female and the female may had made some threats to him. So, we are looking those two possibilities as to what may have resulted into his murder."

But whatever the case maybe one thing is certain, and that is that Karim Hifaya's murder is a great loss, not only to his family but also to the community as he was a youth facilitator for the National Youth Engagement and Empowerment Initiative.

Leionel Smith- Director, National Youth Engagement and Empowerment
"I just spoke to him last Thursday and we were in the process of reactivating our Youth Movement since the summer season is upon us and he has handover to me 13 files of some youths at risked age from here in Mesopotamia and the Albert division and to be truthful I haven't even looked at those files as yet."

Emanuel Pech
"Are you sadden by the fact that he was killed by the same thing he was trying to change?"

Leionel Smith- Director, National Youth Engagement and Empowerment
"That is not a great shock. The whole sad factor of this is that it's too close to home and you have rightly mentioned it is the very issues that we are trying to stem and when it rings close to home in that matter, it is not only hurtful, it is a great loss. I'm sure the family is grieving. He was a well-liked young man, a very sociable person and who would expect that "Buzzard" as we come to know him would meet such a fate."

Reporting for 7 news Emanuel Pech.

He last worked as a security guard for NICH. Earlier today National Institute issued a statement saying, quote, "Mr Hafiya joined NICH Belize in April 2016…Although only with the organization for a short time, Mr. Hafiay's colleagues describe him as a genuine, humble person with an uplifting personality, who was always willing to serve." Karim HafIya leaves behind a wife and four children.

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