There were two murders in 6 hours in the Belize District today. And that's why tonight the head of the new Commissioner of Police is very hot - as government may be forced to activate a Southside state of emergency - only five days after Romero took over.
The two killings happened in the rural Belize District - but they spring directly from a Belize City gang war between two sets in the Martin's area.
That's a long way from the peaceful rural setting of Double Head Cabbage - but that's where gunmen struck at 6:30 this morning. The victim was Aaron Lindo - an affiliate of one of those gangs in the city. He was living in Double Head with the mother of his two children. But, he was being watched - and Courtney Menzies tells us how he was ambushed this morning:
Every morning 36 year old Aaron Lindo and his mother in law walk from their home, which is located along a dirt road in Double Head Village, to the roadside. Lindo usually catches the bus to head to the city while his mother in law goes to work in the village.
And this morning started off no different - the two left the home but as they were walking along the road, two masked men jumped out of the bushes and attacked Lindo. One of them shot him in his head then stood over him and fired more shots.
That's when his common law wife rushed out to the road.
Voice of: Aaliyah Bood, Common Law Wife of Deceased
"I heard at least 8 shots. When I heard the shots, I thought those boys were showing off again. Then I heard my mom scream. When I heard my mom scream, I just grabbed my little baby and I ran. When I reached there, Aaron was on the ground not breathing at all and we started screaming, we called police, we tried to call everyone that we knew to help. But he was already dead."
All she could do then was sit down on the road next to his body. Long after the scene had been processed, Lindo's blood still stained her legs and her mother's clothes.
She said it came as a shock despite a recent threat.
Voice of: Aaliyah Bood, Common Law Wife of Deceased
"I wasn't expecting this to happen, this was the last thing I had on my mind."
Courtney Menzies:
"But you said that you guys had received threats recently?"
Voice of: Aaliyah Bood, Common Law Wife of Deceased
"Well, yes but it was he said, she said so we weren't really following it up."
"It's a complete shock, I still don't believe it, even though I saw him. But I still don't believe it. I don't think I'll believe it any time soon. I think I will still be up waiting for him to come at night but..."
And while his young daughter will also be waiting for her father, his 2 month old son will grow up without knowing him.
Voice of: Aaliyah Bood, Common Law Wife of Deceased
"It's difficult because he won't get to grow up with his dad, he won't get to know him but I will try my best for him to know everything he need to know about his dad and I will try to keep his name alive because they took my babies' dad from them and it really hurts but we have to make it work."
"He made sure we didn't lack anything."
"He was the clown of the family, he likes to make you laugh. He likes to dance, he likes to show off, but he is a serious person in a way so I don't know how this happened but can't question God, just have to live with it."
Bood says she doesn't believe the gunmen were from the village, but the family suspects they had been following Lindo for some time.
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