The weekend came to a bloody end in Belize City last night with a shooting rampage on the south side of the city. The first shooting was at 6 and by the time the last shot was fired at 10pm - one man was dead, one critically wounded, and two lucky to be alive. Keith Swift has the story.
Keith Swift Reporting,
Around ten pm last night Haydon Willoughby, Oscar Westby, and Clive Arnold were sitting on a car here on West Street when a green car pulled up and one of the occupants opened fire. Police now say that at least two of the men in the car were armed. A neighbor who wished to appear off-camera saw the events unfold in front of her gate.
Witness,
"What I saw is that they were out here hanging on their car and they came to see their next home boy and another moving vehicle came from down Mez Avenue side, coming down West Street, and just started to let go some shots on my friends."
Keith Swift,
How many shots did you hear?
Witness,
"I can't count them because it was so much, so much to count."
Keith Swift,
Was there any exchange of words or did this car just pull up?
Witness,
"No kind of exchange of words and no kind of nothing went on. They just passed in their vehicle and just started to shoot. Nobody saw any face or nothing."
Neighbors say it was a barrage of bullets - some say they heard as many as 15 shots in rapid succession. Evidence of the shooting rampage were still visible this morning. The holes on this zinc fence are actually bullet holes. In fact if you look closely, you can see part of one bullet still lodged in this steel gate.
And then of course there is the blood. This trail of blood is the path a desperate and seriously wounded Oscar Westby ran. He scurried off West Street and onto Kut Avenue. He eventually ended up in this yard and at this spot where he collapsed. This is just around the corner from Oscar Westby's home. His common-law wife and mother of his two children Tiffany Gideon also spoke to us off-camera. She says Oscar reluctantly left the house last night.
Tiffany Gideon, Wife of Deceased
"He didn't have on any shirt when they came to look for him. He only put on a pants because he had on his boxers. He put on a pants. And like when they came to look for him, it was like he didn't want to go out there. I could tell that from the look on his face. My boyfriend's friends came. They said they wanted to see him just for a while and thing. They went outside and thing, I saw them talking a little bit. It wasn't twenty minutes good that they were out there. Every minute I went to the window and peeped on them. I don't normally do that but I got some kind of vibes or so. After a little while I sat down on the bed and that is when I heard the gunshots. You couldn't count the amount of shots because it was a lot of shots and thing. I peeped through the window and I saw my boyfriend running down so and I didn't even know they had gotten shot."
Westby was shot and he later died. Tiffany now pregnant with a third child for Oscar can't think of any reason why someone wanted him dead.
Tiffany Gideon,
"He used to be a hangout person but he doesn't hang out again. He is from home to work and work to home. He was a changed person. Where he works, everybody knows he is a nice person. Everyone talks good about him; they don't know him as a trouble person."
Also injured in the melee was Haydon Willoughby, the younger brother of city councilor Phillip Willoughby. Haydon was shot in his face.
Phillip Willoughby, Brother of Victim
"My little brother was shot in the face, that's about it. I can't tell you that I personally know what my brother's involvement is or what he does. All I can say is you know I work with young people. I tried to mediate these sort of things and I tried to do it with my own but for some reason this has occurred and has materialized."
Police say there were at least two gunmen who opened fire on Arnold, Willoughby, and Westby. Police believe those two gunmen are also responsible for the shooting of Kurlin Felix in the Faber's Road area around 6 last night. His mom Janet Felix heard the shots from her verandah.
Janet Felix, Mother of Victim
"I just heard 'blam, blam, blam' and my daughter told me that it was gunshots and I got up and I went inside but then I didn't see anybody running so I decided to come back outside and sit down. After I sat down, two boys rode into the yard and called my grandson's name and told him that his uncle got
shot out there and then I jumped up and change my clothes. I thought I would have found him out there on the ground but then he caught a taxi and went to the hospital and that is where I found him."
CIB Chief Superintendent Chester Williams says they strongly believe that both shootings are related. He says a green two door car ties the shootings together.
Supt. Chester Williams, C.I.B. Commander
"Based on our investigations, we believe that both incidents are related and we are looking for a green two door car. We are appealing to the community, who may have any information, to assist us in both incidents to feel free to call the 922 hotline or they can contact us via our emergency number 911.
We have interviewed all survivors and in both cases, they are saying that they did not see the person who shot them. All they give is the description of the vehicle used. So we are trying to see if we could locate vehicles that fit that description so we could narrow down the suspect list."
Keith Swift,
What type of gun was used?
Supt. Chester Williams,
"In relation to the incident with Oscar Westby, we believe it was something, maybe a sawed pump action shotgun, twelve gauge. Because of the size of the wound, it could never be a pistol so we are looking for some type of high-powered weapon like the sawed off shotgun which uses the slug, not the pellet. In relation to the other incident, based on the in jury, we believe it is a nine-millimeter pistol.
Based on how the incident occurred, it is obvious that they were targeted because the vehicle came to directly where they were and fired shots so most naturally they were targeted."
This morning Janet Felix soaked her son's blood stained pants and shirt. The bullet hole in his clothes - clearly visible. And while she did that - her grandson took home the pink beach cruiser bike Kurlin was on when he got shot. Janet doesn't know why her son was shot but she's seen her fair share of troubles and has had enough.
Janet Felix,
"I don't trouble anyone but trouble comes to me and now they are trying to kill Kurlin and they are trying to kill my other two sons too. Too many things are happening close together. Too many things are coming close together and it is not making any sense."
No sense - tears and blood on Sanker Street - and even more blood and tears on Kut Avenue.
Haydon Willoughby's family is planning to fly him out of the country for treatment. Both Clive Arnold and Kurlin Felix were treated for their injuries and have since been released from the hospital. Police are looking for the two-door green car and anyone with information is asked to call crime stoppers. Police also warn that they are rounding-up all vehicles being driven without license plates.
