Seven shootings leading to five murders all in a span of 32 hours. A spike in gun violence has erupted in Belize, leaving many families grieving tonight. Of the five murder victims, four are from Belize City and two were killed last night.
Just before that double murder, was a double shooting. It was mayhem in the Southside last night, and Courtney Menzies has a rundown of the incidents.
Mayhem erupted in Belize City last night hours before curfew. Just before 8pm, 21-year-old Allen Garcia was targeted by a gunman while he sat near this staircase. 49-year-old Cynthia Conorquie, who lived in the yard on Logwood Street, also sat close by.
A gunman reportedly hopped over Conorquie's back fence and opened fire on Garcia. Conorquie tried to run but was caught in the gunfire and collapsed a few feet away.
Both families were distraught as they came to terms with the pain of losing a mother, grandmother, son and brother. While Conorquie's family was too emotional to speak, Conorquie herself did an interview alongside her late husband back in 2006 when they lost their 14-year-old son to gun violence.
Cynthia Conorquie, Mother of Deceased "They were finished playing the game and he was outside dealing with bicycle, he was helping his friend to fix a bicycle and then the shooting start."
Hector Conorquie, Father of Deceased "They jumped down and everybody ducked down but he ran and he ran right into the bullet."
While her daughters tried to come to terms with losing another loved one to gun violence, they were too broken up to say much. They did share a statement which says quote, "My mom was the nicest person to her children, family and even strangers. She was the type of person who would never think twice to share an extra plate of food with any one in need. When our dad passed 18 months ago from a stroke, she was visibly struggling to be strong, but would quickly wipe away her sadness for the sake of being strong for her two youngest children We will miss her nice smelling cakes on Christmas and her comforting voice when life gets hard. In times like this she would say, don't worry and just have faith." End quote.
About twenty minutes before this double murder, there was a double shooting on Iguana Extension. 30-year-old Delon Hinds and 54-year-old Roy Madrid were standing outside of a house when a black SUV drove up to them and someone inside the car opened fire in their direction.
Following the report, police officers intercepted a black Mazda Tribute and found three men inside, ages 19, 20, and 27. They were placed in handcuffs while the officers searched the vehicle. That search yielded two 9mm pistols and led to the detention of the three men.
These were only four victims out of the six that were shot in the city in a 24-hour span. Three of them died.
