Tonight eighteen-year-old Jesus Alvarenga is in the Western Regional Hospital, after he was shot by the police. Around twelve on Sunday morning, Belmopan Police went into the Las Flores area after receiving reports that a fight had broken out at the corner of Mariposa and Zultana Streets. When the cops pulled up on the scene, they found a group of young men struggling with one man wielding a machete.
Police say that the armed man broke away from two men who were trying to restrain him and then turned towards the police officers, advancing towards them brandishing his machete at them. Police say they told him to stop and when he didn’t one of them shot him in the right thigh. Alvarenga remains in a stable condition under police guard. Once discharged from the western regional hospital, he is expected to be charged with a series of offenses. The Commissioner has ordered an internal investigation to determine whether force was justified.
