At the top of the news, we told you about the weekend killings that happened: 1 on the island of San Pedro, and the other on the edge of the Orange Walk District. We turn now to the explosion of violence that erupted last night in the Krooman Lagoon area of Belize City, near Mile 1 and a half on the George Price Highway.
Sometime around 7 p.m., a family came under assault by a group of men who are believed to be either Central American immigrants or the children of nationalized Belizeans with Central American roots. 2 of the 6 assailants - who are brothers - initially visited a small grocery store in that area, known as Jossiah's Mini Shop. The owner, 32-year-old Violeta Singh refused them service because they were once again behaving in a drunk and disorderly manner.
Initial Police investigations are that they were consuming alcohol at another man's home when some sort of scuffle involving machetes broke out. That spilled into the home of Violeta Singh and resulted in several members of her family getting injured. Later that night, someone burnt Singh's home and grocery store down.
The senseless nature of the entire incident was still fresh in the minds of this traumatized family, who spoke with the press today. Our 7News team caught up with them this morning, and Daniel Ortiz has that story:
This morning, investigators from the National Fire Service, combed through the remains of Violet Singh's home.
This mother of 3 asserts that they'll eventually confirm that were house was destroyed by an arsonist.
She says that the intentionally-set blaze was the crescendo of senseless violence that devastated her family like a weekend storm. The injury to her forehead was inflicted by a group of men living in the Krooman Lagoon area who have started to behave in a thuggish manner. She said that she thought that she was simply refusing customers to her business who were behaving drunk and disorderly.
Violet Singh - Assault/Arson Victim
"I was serving in my shop and the guy came and ask for cigarette, but I told him there is no cigarette. But it looks like he and his brother or friends or whatever they already had an altercation outside. So when the guy came to buy, the other guy came behind him and start an attack between then. I told them to please get out."
Reporter
"You already had suspicions that this could escalate to something?"
Violet Singh - Assault/Arson Victim
"Yes, it always happens. They always fight and police always come for them. So thats why I told them to go. I dont know what was their intention, so I told them to go."
Apparently, they took offense to her refusal, and one of them assaulted her.
Violet Singh - Assault/Arson Victim
"The guy come and ih mih have a stick and that is what he whop me in my head with. I was the first one to get injured. When I felt it, it started to bleed. So my husband when he heard I scream out, he came and ask what happened. He asks the guy why did he do that. Then the guy wanted to take it out on him. My brother-in-law came and ask what happened. The guy started beating us. There were 6 of them."
"After we call the police, the guys whop out my mom and tell her its because she is my family too. They burst my mom head and her knee and her hands. They were drunk. They brought their problem into my house and we went through all of this situation."
Singh says that while she and her injured family members were receiving medical attention, someone came by and lit her house on fire. Very fortunately, her children were in the care of another family member, and not at home at the time.
Violet Singh
"When we gone to the hospital, they came back and light my house on fire."
Reporter
"So your house here, this is all that's left, because of the fire?"
Violet Singh
"Everything has gone, only this."
Reporter
"So right now, you're homeless?"
Violet Singh
"I don't have nothing and then 3 of them catch already because it looks like their altercation continued afterwards between them and it looks like one of them got chopped and one of them got stabbed. I don't know what happened, but that they reach to the hospital with injuries and thats why the police grab them, because I told them those were the guys who came here."
ASP Fitzroy Yearwood - Communications Officer, BPD
"I was just recently appraised of the situation, but I know that investigators here have already detained several parties believed to be involved in that brawl."
Reporter
"Do police suspect that the destruction of the house by fire is connected to that incident?"
ASP Fitzroy Yearwood - Communications Officer, BPD
"More than likely investigators believe so and that is why we have them detained, not only for the brawl, but like I said obviously it's a case of arson. So, we will see how far investigators will get this morning."
And Violet Singh is hoping that police will go all the way, gather evidence, charge the offenders, and successfully prosecute them. She wants them to face stiff consequences for all the damage they inflicted on her family.
Violet Singh
"Some of them are immigrants, some of them are Belizeans who the parents lived here. They are from Salvador, but the parents live here and they were born here. But there are some of them who doesn't have papers, they just come and brought their style from Salvador where they say are MS-13 and they brought that style here and because a lot of Spanish people lives here, where they don't speak out and they leave themselves to be taken advantage of. They are a gang who called themselves MS13 and this is what they are doing to people who doesn't have anything to do with them or anything. I want everybody to know who they are and I want them to be caught and pay for what they did and with that I am satisfied, because material things come and go and thank God all of us are living and we have our health and we can continue work and build back again. The only thing I ask for is justice that what happened to me, I don't want it to happen to anybody else."
Police say that they have two men in detention in connection with this incident. One of them was criminally charged many years ago for being a member of the MS-13 gang. We'll tell you when police make arrests in connection with this case.
