The only person you didn’t see in that story was Orson Elrington. He’s the owner of Putt Putt and he today told us that he wasn’t there when the shooting happened.
Orson Elrington, Owner – Putt Putt Bar
”My heart is really heavy and I have to once again tell all the families of the victims, the victims themselves, that my prayers are with them and I am with them and that I am there for them. This is the climax of what is the real horrible and outright just ridiculous situation when it comes to violence in Belize right now, specifically in the city, and I have to say that I condemn this act totally and I am totally disgusted with it. It is such an act of a coward that I can’t even say that the men, because it can’t be men, it has to be sub-human people that act in this manner and I say this without no regret and no fair.”
Keith Swift,
Does the club take any responsibility for what happened?
Orson Elrington,
“Well obviously we have to take responsibility. Each one of us has to take responsibility. As a citizen we have to take responsibility but obviously as the owner of the bar, as the establishment where it happened, we always have to look back and see what I could have done differently, what could have been done differently.”
Keith Swift,
So what could have been done differently?
Orson Elrington,
“In that scenario the only thing I can say could have been done differently would have been probably to have like we said more lighting in the area that has a breach, that is coming over from the neighbor’s area. That’s the only thing because like I said before, we had a security guard exactly situated in that area and only after when he was escorting out people, it is during that exact time, that the incident happened.”
Keith Swift,
People in this neighborhood say they don’t want the club here for this very reason.
Orson Elrington,
“Well those neighbors, they have never had a problem with security like that. Its symptomatic of the violence in Belize, not symptomatic of anything that has to do with the bar.”
Keith Swift,
Will Putt Putt be reopened?
Orson Elrington,
“Well that is a decision that is basically going to be made I guess by me ultimately but obviously after consultation with family members, speaking with my employees, speaking with the family members. But in all I must say that if nothing else, all the families, everyone has told me that to make sure that we continue to fight the battle and that we continue and we make sure that we don’t close down. There is no definitive time, there is no definitive time.”
