The lives of hundreds of schoolchildren were put at grave danger today as a gunfight between police and a fleeing suspect played out in a city schoolyard.
The children of Queen's Square Anglican School were on break when Lincoln Robinson dashed across their yard, running from the police. 7NEWS was on the scene shortly after, and here's the story.
Alfonso Noble Reporting,
It was 10:15 this morning, break time for Queen Square Anglican School when police pulled up on 31 year old Lincoln Robinson standing here at an alley mouth on North Creek. When he saw the officers, he jumped a nearby fence into the school compound followed closely by police officers. The school's vice principal who wished not to be identified relates what she saw next.
Vice-Principal,
“I saw that there was something bulky in his shirt and he was holding it around his belt. I saw that there was a police officer behind him as well. Well he was very close to me and as soon as he passed I ran up the step and rang the buzzer. Shortly after that I heard the gunshot. I thought I would be a hostage or something. I was very shocked. I am thinking that he probably saw the children as a way of cover because he could have ran somewhere else but he chose to open our gate and run through our yard.”
“Some of the them saw him running, some of them saw the police and natural instinct set in and when they heard the buzzer they moved to their classes.”
But the children's activity did not at all deter the ongoing chase that led to shots being fired here at the extreme western end of the school compound. The principal says she heard an exchange of fire.
Nelma Mortis, School Principal
“When I first heard the shots I thought it was the children throwing dynamite. So I decided to peek out and then I saw somebody running through the yard in a white shirt. I realized then it was gunshots because I saw the smoke from through the window from the gunfire and the social officer threw herself on the ground and instinct told me its gunshot so I did the same. But actually what I can say is that there was an exchange of fire. There were two different sounds of gunshot and it was several. It was almost like a dozen.”
Those gunshots ended with Robinson being shot in the leg and finally being apprehended here inside this car. He came here after scaling a couple of fences and the blood that remains in the back of the old vehicle marks where his run ended. Police then searched the area behind the school grounds where they recovered a glock 9-millimeter pistol with two live rounds. And while they continued their search for expended shells Robinson's family members say he did not have a gun.
Shooting Victim’s Brother,
“The police they just came and didn’t ask any questions. They bust shots after the boy right in the school yard. Those things are necessary. Those police they think they are invincible and they are not because they are pushing the limit now. My boy didn’t have any gun. My boy isn’t wanted. But because they haven’t seen him for so long, they want to approach him any kind of way.”
Jules Vasquez,
He had been laying low?
Shooting Victim’s Brother,
“Very low. He doesn’t even live here he lives in Cayo. He doesn’t bother anyone.”
Daphne Robinson, Shooting Victim’s sister
“My brother went to Cayo to change his life. He went to open a shop and live with his girl. My brother just get fed and said ‘D I am going to come down and hang out with you a little bit.’ My brother has only been here 3 days. He is not in any trouble with the police, he is not fooling with anyone and I think its unfair for those policemen to just be pulling up on people and taking advantage of them. That is what I think because they don’t have any right to be shooting at people.”
Nelma Mortis, School Principal
“I am not going to blame the police blatantly because I don’t know who did the shooting. I almost believe that they exchanged fire because the sounds of the gunshots were different. But I mean they were doing their jobs too.”
And while she cannot cast blame she does know that things are getting so out of hand now that children in a school yard are not safe anymore. Not safe to the point where her curriculum may have to be adjusted to reflect changing times.
Nelma Mortis,
“I want to speak generally to the entire society. Our society is almost to me gone because what I realized now is that I have to prepare my students to be able to understand situations like this and this is going to happen more often since our society is deteriorating and its deteriorating drastically.”
“I am thinking right now that I have to get back to my students, do some counseling and get them to understand the social crisis that this country is in. It’s about time that we do something about this. It’s ridiculous. If the criminal is shooting after him, what’s next? It’s a dilemma.”
A Belize city street dilemma that on this morning spilled into a school yard putting hundreds of school children in the line of fire.
Robinson was shot to his right leg and is in a stable condition. He will be charged with possession, resisting arrest, and other charges when he is released.