For many in Belize City, 8:00 o clock on a Sunday morning is reserved for mass. But that's not what criminals had in mind when they pounced on a Chinese grocery and opened up with ruthless gunfire. In a business where the word 'stunning' is often over-used, this one exceeds description in calculation, cruelty and cold-bloddedness. Here's what happened.
At 7:30 on Sunday morning, one man entered this store at the corner of Basra and George Streets. The owner Bing Rou Xu who's been at this location for 9 years was just opening the store. His daughter Xu Wen Fei told us what happened.
Xu Wen Fei, Daughter of Victim
"On Sunday morning at 7:30 my dad just opened the store and one man came in, ordered a 5 gallon of water, and so upon fulfilling that request he had to open the main gate. So that is when he found out that there were two guys outside ambushing. One had a mask on and when they saw my dad opening the gate, they pushed, forced their way in and one pointed his gun at my dad's head. And when they forced open the gate, they flung my dad outside on the road and they pushed their way inside.
So my dad just ran out screaming for help. And they forced their way in. My mom was in the kitchen and when she heard the noise, she came out and she
instantly she knew what was happening. So all she said was to please don't give her any trouble. It was like, 'take all you want,' and the gunman just pointed the gun at her and just shot her dead right on the spot, like not giving her anytime to defend herself. So they went into the bedroom.
My brother and my sister were sleeping so my brother sat up on his bed and the gunman pointed the gun at him and asked him for money. So instantly my brother quickly pointed him to the dollar coins stacked at the bottom of the bed and the gunman grabbed the coins out of his left hands and shot my brother four
times. And then he pushed my sister outside to the floor and asked her where is the rest of the money. So my sister just showed him the rest of the money and they took all of it, the few thousand dollars. And after taking all the money, they finished off with a shot to my sister's head, my sister's face. So they just ran out after that."
Jackie Woods, News 5
"Do you think your mother and your brother and sister would have been able to recognize the gunman and that's why your mother was killed?"
Xu Wen Fei,
"I don't think she had time to react to that situation. It was so quick. I am not sure if she recognized him or not but she wasn't given any time to even do anything. She is so little, she's smaller than me, and she's 49 years old. There is no way she can cause any harm to them."
And while Ciu Su Xu is dead, her children are just holding unto life. Her 11 year old son is at the KHMH and her none year old daughter at the Belize Medical Associates.
Xu Wen Fei,
"She got shot on her right eye so the bullet traveled through the nose and came out through the left cheek so her eyes are fully bandaged and she's going to lose this eye and it has to be taken care of as soon as possible because if left untreated, it might affect the brain and the other eye so it might leave her totally blind. She is going to lose this one eye."
Jackie Woods,
"And how is your little brother doing?"
Xu Wen Fei,
"My brother is lucky that none of the shots were pointed at his vital organs so he got shot on the left shoulder through his left wrist and scratched his chin and up his cheek. So he got shot four times."
On Sunday morning at 8:00, just three blocks from the Wesley Cathedral, the community from George Street came out to see them take away the body of the grocer who had been in the community for 9 years. Police acted on information received and had the primary suspect and some key pieces of evidence within four hours:
Supt. Aaron Guzman, Commander - CIB
"At about 12:30 on Sunday we had in our custody a gentleman by the name of Mark Medina. Mark Medina, 23-year-old
Belizean, and unemployed, of Belize City. We have so far recovered a firearm which is a nine millimeter pistol which we believe to have been used to commit this crime and we have recovered some monies which have so far been identified as monies taken from the business place."
And while the arrest of Mark Medina is a major score for police, to this grieving, distressed family it hardly matters. They are fighting to ensure the survival of the two children and are asking for community support to deal with mounting medical bills.
Xu Wen Fei,
"I'd just like to ask everyone who is watching the news, everyone who is a parent who has their children: what would you feel if something like this is to happen to them? This is something really really tragic. It has already broken our family. I just want everyone to please help and donate to this account."
That account is at the Atlantic Bank in the name of Bing Rou Xu and the number is 200565984.
