It is a popular ice cream parlor and restaurant in downtown Belize City but last night the blue bird was the scene of a violent armed robbery. Shortly after nine pm, store workers were closing up when they were confronted by three men armed, masked, and with robbery on their minds. Our 7NEWS team was on the scene shortly after and here's the story.
Keith SwiftReporting,
This was the bloody mess left after last night's robbery of Blue Bird on Albert Street: blood on the counters, blood on the floor, and blood on the street. The young man cleaning up the mess is Giovanni Budd. He works at Blue Bird and was in the back of the store cleaning up when he heard the commotion.
Giovanni Budd, Employee
"We were about to close up the shop and then me and the other Chinese girl were at the back because I was at the back getting a bag to put in the garbage and the other young lady was putting in some Klim in a container to take home and all of a sudden I heard screaming and shouting and I came outside and I saw a dark skin, I don't know if the guy was dark skinned or what, I saw the guy choking and grabbing my co-worker. When I saw him, I think two of them had gun, and when I saw the gun I ran back inside in the storeroom and I locked myself inside the storeroom."
The woman the robbers were choking was Timothea Cho. That's her telling her story to police last night. She says that one of the gunmen jumped over the counter and pistol whipped two of her Chinese bosses and then choked her. Giovanni came out of the storeroom after he was sure the men had left.
Giovanni Budd,
"When I heard they went, I came outside and I called the 911."
Keith Swift,
Did you hear them say anything?
Giovanni Budd,
"All I heard they say was to give them the money."
Keith Swift,
You know if they got any money?
Giovanni Budd,
"I think they went with all the money and all the phone cards."
Keith Swift,
Did these guys have on masks?
Giovanni Budd,
"Yes, I think both of them had on two black masks and both of them were dressed in black."
The store's owner Zheng Ju Kang told us her rushed to the scene after hearing his niece and nephew were injured.
Zheng Ju Kang, Store Owner
"I own the business but I wasn't here. They called me here."
Keith Swift,
What did you hear happened?
Zheng Ju Kang,
"I heard they robbed my niece and nephew."
Though no one was shot - last night's robbery has struck a chord with Elena Bejos. She lives around the corner from blue bird and she says that because of a lack of police presence - this was a robbery waiting to happen.
Elena Bejos, Area Resident
"You have guys riding around on bicycles attacking people for cell phones with guns. It has been reported, policemen come around. If they are caught, they are caught. If they are not caught, we don't know because they never come back and say anything. What happened tonight is really really sad because it is too close to home and what I think the government should do, or maybe people should get together, like the security guards that work for all the different businesses around here, should get together and try to cover one another's backs and have more police protection and more police patrolling the area because it is something that has been happening every night. Sorry to say it, but this was something that was about to happen because it is every night you see them riding around on bicycles. It is sad that it had to be the Chinese guys because they working hard to make their little money and then for this to happen, somebody to come in and rob them, attack them, this is really sad."
Sad but it makes it apparent that nowhere is safe - not even in downtown Belize City.
The store reports that the thieves made off with $500 and an undisclosed amount of prepaid telephone cards. The storeowners who were pistol whipped were treated for their injuries and released from the KHMH. Police detained a suspect shortly after but he has not been charged.
