Love FM's Christmas Parade in the City is a major event - especially for families. But on Saturday - terror was unleashed as word spread along the route that shots had been fired. That caused a wave of panic to ripple from the corner of Bishop and Albert streets, all the way down Cemetery road where throngs were lined up to see the parade. As word spread, folks just started to run, and It created a literal stampede where parents had to rush to pull their children out of the way - as adults were dashing for cover. But, all in vain, because no shots were fired. Police confirmed today that bottles were thrown between a group of young men:...
ASP Alejandro Cowo, OC - CIB Belize City
"We can confirm that during the parade there was no shots fired. No where in the immediate [area] nor in the city at the time of the parade on that evening. Yes there was a dispute among two male persons which resulted in one of them receiving an injury and he was taken to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital where he was treated and released on the following day for a minor stab wound to the right shoulder. But there was no shots fired during the parade."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"Are the police aware of the wave of hysteria which out of this relatively small incident and it spread at least a half a mile if not more?"
ASP Alejandro Cowo
"Yes, we are aware. I was working the parade. I was at the rear guard when the information received that shots were fired. We took precautionary measure and we contained the area, hence the reason. But by the time it reached us, people were already saying that shots were being fired everywhere in the line of the parade that caused a chaos amongst the persons parading and the onlookers on the street."
19 year old Peter Craig was treated and released - and police expect to charge his attackers.
One woman told us that her son was literally caught under the stampeding adults - and he sustained minor injuries. This happened close to Constitution Park, which is almost a mile away from where the bottles were thrown. While she was saving her son, a woman snatched her phone out of her hand.
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