Three years of peace on the Placencia peninsula was broken last night at 9:10. That’s when gunshots rang out and 25-year-old Shannon Henderson was killed. It is the first murder in Placencia in nearly three years and police say Henderson, who was a craftsman, may have been killed because of drugs. Keith Swift went to Placencia in search of why someone would want to kill this father that had another child on the way.
Keith Swift Reporting,
This is Shannon Henderson along with his Canadian girlfriend Julie Hachey. In Placencia they called him Shaggy and the couple shared a room in this apartment building in the Berges area of Placencia. And last night it was here – the entrance of the building that shaggy was standing was shot twice. A close friend of shaggy who lives upstairs of the apartment building heard the shots and spoke to us off camera.
Friend of Deceased,
“I was upstairs when I heard the two shots but I thought it was pop-shots and that is why I didn’t come out the first time. But when I looked through the window I saw two guys running but then it came to my mind and I thought about my friend. When I came downstairs I started to knock on the door and when I saw the man on the ground, and the girl told me to do something. I ran to the station and only the Sergeant was there. When I came back, the was dead already.”
Shaggy was dead. And while he was shot outside – these holes that he punched in the walls and the blood indicate that he did run inside. Irma cal also lives in the apartment building. She wasn’t home at the time of the murder but her daughter was.
Irma Cal, Area Resident
“I went to work at 6pm so when I reached work about 9, during at work at nine o’clock, my daughter called me. I left a phone at home and told them that if anything happens just give me a call. So when she called last night she told me, ‘Mommy they shoot somebody.’ So I asked her who and she told me they shot Shaggy. I know Shaggy like for about four months. I don’t know him to talk to him but I see him around and thing. And then I asked my daughter when they shot him and she said it just happened and they heard two gunshots and then she said they a saw a lot of people running and the girl was bawling, Shaggy’s girl was bawling they shot him.”
Placencia Police strongly believe that Shaggy’s murder was drug related. Inspector Daniel Arzu says that just prior to being killed –Shaggy was seen arguing over drugs and money.
Insp. Daniel Arzu, Deputy Commander – ISF
“Previously there was a hangout session with the deceased and other
male persons and apparently they were consuming, from what I was told, cannabis and shortly after the visitors left and returned about half hour later, indicating that they had lost some $400 inside the house and was coming to claim the money. The occupant of the house, which is the deceased, indicated to them that he has no knowledge of that and was asking of them to leave. And just within that session there was a slight argument and apparently the intruder did not intend to extend the argument and he just fired two shots, catching the deceased to the right side of his chest and left side of his lower back.”
Keith Swift,
This $400, this was proceeds from drugs or what?
Insp. Daniel Arzu,
“Well investigations suggest that that might have been the proceeds of some drugs of which the accused person was claiming he had dropped or forgotten or lost inside the house of the deceased.”
Inspector Arzu stressed that though shaggy has a conviction for drug trafficking – he has d never been charged for a violent crime. And that squares with what those who knew him say.
Irma Cal,
“From the time I know Shaggy he is not a trouble person. From the time I knew him he was a cool guy. I don’t see him in any kind of problems or nothing.”
Friend of Deceased,
“From how I know the man, he was a good friend. He doesn’t involve in anything like that.”
Inspector Arzu hopes to rap the investigation soon on what he calls Placencia’s second murder in 10 days.
Insp. Daniel Arzu,
“We are just doing our investigations. We are meeting cooperation from members of the community and we are grateful for that. We do know that they realize this is a tourist destination area and people are quite receptive to other people but they are receptive to criminal activities and I personally would endorse that type of feeling. We are hoping to reach somewhere with our investigation today. We are strong at it, we are getting strong cooperation from the members of the community as I mentioned to you and as I told you earlier, we have somebody who we believe will be best able to assist us in this investigation.”
Deputy Commander of the Police’s Intermediate Southern Formation Inspector Daniel Arzu told us this evening that a suspect is detained but no one has been charged.
