Two San Pedro men who police say had drinking problems and domestic problems shot each other today apparently with the same gun! The double shooting happened around noon today on the northern end of Ambergris Caye. Tonight, one of those men, a Honduran national is dead, while the other, an American man is in serious but stable condition at the KHMH. 7NEWS teamed up with our colleagues at the San Pedro Sun on this one, and Alfonso Noble has the story from Belize City and San Pedro.
Alfonso NobleReporting,
As an injured 66 year old William Douglas Campbell arrived in Belize City via a chartered flight from San Pedro with gunshot wounds to the left side of his chest, the body of Campbell's caretaker was being taken from his workplace in this home in the Tres Cocos Area about a mile to the north of San Pedro Town. 39-year-old Honduran national Danilo Villatoro had injuries to the left side of his head. Lead investigator Sergeant Dennis Myles says the two men sustained their injuries some time after midday today
Sgt. Dennis Myles, San Pedro Police
"I would say around 12:10 we received information that Mr. Campbell was suffering from some sort of injury beside his house. When we came we found the front door open and we went inside and saw Mr. Campbell suffering from what appeared to be a single gunshot wound to the left side of his chest whilst the other person was suffering from a gunshot wound to the left side of his temple. We believe that the caretaker and Mr. Campbell had some sort of issue and hence the reason why Mr. Campbell had shot the caretaker and in turn shot himself.
We just found one.38 revolver. It had in two expended shells and three live rounds. We also found a number of 12 gauge cartridges. We believe that Mr. Campbell has a 12 gauge firearm but we didn't find it inside the house. We found the.38 weapon right next to Mr. Campbell."
Myles says that at this moment the police have strong reason to believe the shooting was as a result of a murder suicide attempt. In fact they have information to suggest that both men had become despondent over the past few days.
Sgt. Dennis Myles,
"We have received information from the neighbor of Mr. Campbell that he was telling them last week that he wanted to kill himself and likewise the caretaker because both of them, their wives had left both of them and from since then they had drinking problems and they drank a lot, according to the neighbor. We will still investigate this matter to the fullest and we'll find out what exactly happened."
And as they police investigate to get to the bottom of this strange shooting in this picturesque portion to the north of San Pedro, Campbell is at the KHMH tonight in serious condition.
66-year-old Douglas Campbell was shot to the chest and is listed in serious but stable condition at the KHMH. Police say they still aren't completely sure what happened and they are waiting for Campbell's condition to improve before they question him.
