Last night, we showed you what Police Commissioner Chester Williams had to say about the very disturbing trend that is starting to emerge in the recent flare-ups between rival gangs of Belize City. Street figures are starting to deploy an intimidation strategy where arson is being used as a form of retaliation.
And that's why, tonight, the Flowers family is worried about their wellbeing and the safety of their home on Park Street in the Lake Independence Area of Belize City. That's because, on 2 separate occasions over the past 5 days, some unknown person has tried to burn their house down. Billy Ray Flowers, the patriarch of the family, is currently recovering from 2nd-degree burns because he had to rush out into his yard in the pre-dawn hours of Monday. Someone lit a gallon of gasoline and left it near to his family's cooking gas tank. Fortunately, he was able to push away the accelerant just before it ignited the LPG tank, but he paid dearly for it. Then, someone came back early this morning and tried to burn their house down again. Luckily, they had concerned neighbors who alerted them about the fire just outside the stairs of their home.
Today, Flowers and his common-law wife, Karen Young, spoke with our news team about the distress they have been under, since the first arson attempt. They said that for some reason, unknown culprits began targeting their house shortly after the murder of Kanye King. Here's what they had to say about the 2 attempts to harm their family:
Karen Young - Victim of Attempted Arson
"Only my daughter was at home. She called me and said, 'Mom, a lot of gunshots are being fired back here'. I told her, 'Just try to stay inside with the baby. Don't let him go out on the verandah'. And I told her to try and keep the doors locked. I came from work Monday evening. We were home, my gentleman and me. My daughter was in the room the night. We were watching TV, and I just looked up, and I saw a brightness. So, I asked him, what brightness is out there. When I told him that, I opened the front door, and when I opened it, I saw flames. So, he ran down the steps. He said someone is trying to light our house on fire. We had a gas tank outside, and they had a bottle with gas beside it. It was already lit. All my pipes were burnt up. The gas tank, he managed to get the gas tank out of the way. He lifted up the gallon bottle that they brought with a shovel. That's when he suffered 2nd-degree burns on his hands. We contacted the police. They came. They found a school bag under our house, with the cover. They took that. Scenes of Crime came and took pictures of the place and everything."
"Now this morning - from (since) that happened, we don't sleep in the room. We sleep in the hall."
"He had his phone in the room. The neighbor was calling him because she saw the house on flames again this morning like around a few minutes to 4. When we came out, it was closer to the step now. He had 2 car seats out there. They lit the car seat which could have caught on the steps. I don't know if they didn't want to come out of the house. Then, they had it underneath the house, a next gallon bottle was there. We found a $1.50 water bottle with gas. We don't have any leads on why they want to do it. We don't know why. We are trying to figure out why because we don't have any problems with anyone."
As you saw, Billy Ray Flowers has burn injuries on his right forearm which continue to heal very slowly. In our interview, Flowers gave the arsonists a warning to stay away from his family and their property:
Billy Ray Flowers - Victim of Attempted Arson
"I don't know who this young man is, but I am being real. That's my little palace. I got my little granddaughter there, and I'm telling you if my little girl ever perishes in a fire there, I will find you. And I will make you feel how it feels; this is not a threat. But, you are messing around. This is the second time you came. See, my hand got burned the first time. Don't let it be a third time."
The couple tells us that police are aware of the situation because they have made reports.
