Tonight, a 50 year-old woman from Belize City remains hospitalized, after she was senselessly shot while she was at her home, located at the corner of Benbow Street and Kraal Road - which is considered gang turf.
It happened at around 8:00 last night. Kathia Williams, who's a mother and grand mother, was outside her house enjoying night's cool air, when a gunman came in front of her property and suddenly opened fire in her direction. Williams was the only one outside, and she was injured once to the left breast, and once to the lower abdomen.
Her family members, who were inside, quickly came to her aid, and they rushed her to the KHMH, where she had to undergo emergency medical treatment. She's expected to make a recovery, but the big question is, who did it and why? You may know her son, Shane Williams. He was once a journalist for the Guardian Newspaper, but he is now employed with the UDP.
But, his family is related to persons who have gang connections, and though Shane, his mother and his other siblings have stayed away from that lifestyle, they do live in a gang neighborhood.
He suspects that this familial connection may have caused the shooter to target his mother last night. He told 7News this afternoon, that he is hoping to encourage his blood relatives not to retaliate, and escalate the violence in his neighborhood any further. Here's what he told us about his mother's shooting, and her prognosis:
Shane Williams - Son of Shooting Victim
"From what I gather, she was sitting outside with my sister and her grand daughter. And just before the incident, my sister decided to go inside. She didn't want to stay up because it was getting late, and there were some of our cousins hanging out in front of our yard. So, my mother sent - like she chased them in. She said, this house is not bullet proof. This is not a base. Don't be hanging out in front of here. So, she chased them in, and hung out as she usually does, to get some breeze. And 15 minutes later, they came and just started shooting the house. Unfortunately, she was shot twice, once to the left side of the chest, once to the abdomen. Fortunately, the shot to the left side of the chest did not penetrate, did not go into the body and damage any organs. It went into the breast, and came right back out. And the one to the abdomen damaged her small intestine and ovary. So, Dr. Mungee and his team had to do an emergency surgery last night to repair the small intestine, and remove the ovary. But, right now, she's in the ICU, and expected to recover from those injuries."
"I will not spend a second or a minute of my time trying to figure out who is the shooter, or why they did it. My main concern is that my mother has the support she needs to recover, my sisters have the support they need to get over it, and the grand kids that they can get over the trauma. Also, my next concern is ensure that my cousins, and all those other individuals who are close to us, that they do not try to retaliate, that there is no escalation in violence, and that our community can remain relatively peaceful. That is my main concern. I don't care who the shooter is, and I don't care why he did it."
Reporter
"It's kinda difficult because the area where you live is around that Supal area, and you have cousins - and it's no fault of your own - who may be linked to a particular group in that area. It will be hard to keep the peace. How do you do that?"
Shane Williams
"Well, first of all, I need to keep them from retaliating. That's the number 1 thing. Try to talk to them. They know that my mother wouldn't want that. She doesn't tolerate that. And you can't choose who your relatives are. You can only choose who you associate with. You live in a neighborhood with gangs. If you live in a neighborhood with those gangs, they associate you with one of those gangs. And unfortunately, when a shooter comes, most of the time, they don't look to see who they are shooting. We cannot prevent that, but we can prevent how we react to it."
Immediately after the shooting, police detained 3 persons for questioning, but no one has been charged for this incident.
