It should have been a night to get carnival lovers in the September spirit, but, instead, public terror was unleashed at the Marion Jones Stadium on Saturday night at the annual carnival queen and king competition. Near the end of the show at least one canister of tear gas was released in the open-air stadium, which was packed with hundreds of spectators. 7NEWS reporter Keith Swift and videographer Luis Munoz were at the stadium covering the King and Queen Contest when the attack occurred. Here is the story of mass chaos and public terror.
Keith Swift Reporting,
On Saturday night it was a party like no other in the Marion Jones Stadium. The bleachers were filled, the crowd was energetic, the music electric, and the costumes eccentric. But it would take just seconds for the celebration to erupt into chaos.
[People Screaming & Crying]
Woman #1: I jumped over one of these things and that burnt my eyes. I washed my face with mud and water. I was watching the show up there and I didn’t know it was tear gas so I ran, jumped over and I started to wash my face.
Man #1: It burnt my face because I was over there sitting down and I was watching the thing where everybody was dancing and when I looked the thing just burnt my face and I had to turn my face and jumped over the thing and I had to run.
Man #2: I thought it was part of the show.
Man #3: I was standing up there by the bleachers and I saw a crowd of people standing up and all of a sudden I saw smoke started
to coming and everybody to run. After that everyone started to run from up there and I started to run and I couldn’t see nothing. I was trying to cover my eye and I couldn’t do it and it burnt my nose and everything.
Woman #2: I was sitting upstairs and all of a sudden something just blew into everyone’s face like acid or I don’t know what.
Woman #3: I was sitting and then someone was on stage and I just saw like a lot of smoke coming and then it started to burn my eyes, face, and everything. So I saw everyone running so I just ran and then everyone was jumping over the fences and stuff.
KS: Your eyes are still hurting?
Woman #3: No but I have a headache.
Woman #4: This is not a good idea. We were having fun. Something went wrong.
Something was wrong, terribly wrong. This is video we shot just minutes after the can of tear gas was detonated and after our own cameraman cleared the toxin from his eyes. As you can see it is completely chaotic. You had the judges running for the gates, there were confused children crying in the arms of their parents, and there were those who simply couldn’t bear the fumes and needed help.
A police constable rushed to the aid of this woman and while she got bottled water, everyone needed water and some had to get it from this cooler. The more desperate were those who could only get water from puddles of mud like this one. Still, there were twenty people who needed an ambulance. And as for the bleachers, which were filled with hundreds of spectators, those were now empty. Amidst all the chaos we found this panicked woman desperately searching for her nephew.
Woman #5: Please I am looking for my nephew right now, Boris Belisle. If he is anyway please let him meet us at the back….I think it is something like tear gas or something just busted out in the area. Somebody exploded tear gas.
Jesus Caceres is one of the kings for the Fantaxia Mas Band. He was on stage just minutes before the attack.
Jesus Carceres, Fantaxia Mas Band
“I don’t have any idea. I just felt smoke started to burn my eyes. I didn’t know exactly what it was but it really burnt and I was trying to keep up. I thought it was only after me but then I realized the people began run too so I realized it was something. I don’t know what it is but I wouldn’t call names and I wouldn’t judge anyone.”
We met More FM personality Isani Cayetano still under a daze from the tear gas fumes. A befuddled Isani told us he was about to file a report when he met the fumes.
Isani Cayetano, More FM
“I was walking out of the bathroom. I walked out to do my report and it just hit me. I wasn’t aware what it was at first. I wasn’t aware what it was at first and I just saw everybody moving. By that time it had already hit me.”
The team of police officers on the scene was led by Assistant Superintendent of Police Aaron Guzman.
ASP Aaron Guzman, Police Department
“Some people out here at the carnival king and queen are complaining that they felt burning in their eyes and their nose. It seems as if though there may have been some sort of element in the air, foreign element that burnt them. I can’t say if it is gas, if it is pepper spray or what. But since about the last five minutes, the wind has blown off whatever was in the air and it is back to normal. It is up for investigation right now.”
Keith Swift,
Will you allow the show to go on?
ASP Aaron Guzman,
“Oh most definitely. I just spoke to the Chairman of the committee and he said that he is talking with the band members from each group to get them back to finish the show.”
Actually after huddling, the Carnival Committee decided that the show would not go on. The Police Department has released the picture of the tear gas canister they say was detonated on Saturday night. It is next to a can of the Police Department’s tear gas as proof that gas didn’t come from police.
This morning Assistant Commissioner of Police Crispin Jeffries said shame on you to the carnival bands that used pyrotechnics like this. He said all fireworks used on Saturday night were thoroughly illegal.
ACP Crispin Jeffries, Commander of Eastern Division
“It is clearly either a malicious or a foolish act of an individual who may not be aware of what he or she was doing at the time when this particular item was discharged.
The particular incident occurred and there were several things that we believe took place that should not have taken place. In particular there was no approval given for the use of fireworks and the authority and permission for such use should be granted by the Belize Defense Force and should be conducted and carried out by a qualified or trained person. To the best of our knowledge, our investigation so far, there is nothing to prove that such items were being handled by any duly qualified person.”
Keith Swift,
What is the Carnival Committee’s stance on what Mr. Jeffries said this morning?
Edith Tesecum, P.R. - Carnival Committee
“I totally agree. If he warned anybody, he may have warned the carnival groups but the Carnival Committee is not responsible for any fireworks used that night.”
Edith Tesecum is the Public Relations Officer for the Carnival Committee.
Edith Tesecum,
“Whoever is responsible for this malicious act should be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law and that is what we are pushing for. The Carnival Committee apologizes to anybody that was hurt. My daughter was out there. My daughter got hurt with the tear gas and everything. So to anybody that got hurt we apologize, we hope that you guys recover quickly but at the end of the day we did what was within our reach to do.”
But after the chaos on Saturday night, the question tonight is if the Carnival Committee’s enough was good enough.
The KHMH spokesperson reports that they initiated their mass casualty protocol, and brought in 10 doctors to treat 40 patients in three hours. No one was admitted. The Carnival Committee estimates that well over a thousand people were at the Marion Jones Stadium. Police have questioned seven suspects but no one has been charged. Prior to the tear gas attack there was an almost complete show, and you'll get to see the junior queen and king competition as well as the senior queens tomorrow.
