Another minor has been shot on Belize City's streets, and, tonight, 14 year old Josue Daniel Villalta Echavarria is in critical condition.
But his neighbor, a young man who the neighborhood called Chango, met his tragic end.
It all happened last night at around 8:20 when one neighbor told me that the residents had mostly turned in for the night but that's when the shooter found his way into the target's bedroom.
Tonight 25-year old Dorian Tzac known as "Chango" is dead while his neighbor, 14-year old Daniel Villalta Echavarria is in the KHMH fighting for his life.
It's a tragic turn of events that snuck up on the young friends unsuspectingly as they and a few others hung out in Chango's room at around 8:25 last night.
And those who knew Chango the homebody said that even against his father's advice, that's what he always did: he stayed home and let his friends come "chill" in his yard.
Chango's mistake though, another thing his father had warned him against, was leaving the gate unlocked. That's how It was last night around 8:25 when a gunman snuck in and opened fire on the young man and his friends.
His long time neighbor and friend Anica Mariano heard the gunshots:
Anica Mariano, Neighbor/Friend
"When I looked around I saw that it was my neighbor's yard, so then I came back and I opened my door because I said now, this is close to home, this young man is like family. He's been in and out of my house. You know, he's family because he's always here, he's my younger one's best friend. So I went and I saw another one came out of the yard, his father was holding him and he said he got shot and I was looking around where the other one was because I said Chango's room is at the back. So I hollered, I hail his sister and I said gyal did you check on Chango, Miss Cruz did you check on Chango and that's when he realized that okay it's in their yard and when we went to the back he was already in his blood in his bed. He was in his bed lying down probably his phone next to him. We put him in a carry on so that we could carry him out because we said he's still living because she checked for a pulse and he was still having, it was not really reactive, it was really low but we said that we could still save him then we were hailing for the police but they had detained one of the young men that was probably in the shooting so they weren't able to assist us. They came after but I told them it's okay his sister is going to take him to the hospital."
But it wasn't okay. Dorian Tzac didn't survive.
14-year -old Echavaria who had only recently moved to the yard and even more recently started hanging out with the group was luckier.
Cherisse Halsall:
"Miss Anica we know that there is a fourteen year old minor who got shot in the fray as well, tell me about that? The fourteen year old minor was the new tenant there. He just came to live around us so I don't know so much about him because he just came in the neighborhood but Chango now he's been here from birth."
And while the close knit neighborhood mourns the hardworking friendly young man, questions remain as to why he and his friends were targeted.
Anica Mariano, Neighbor/Friend
"I don't know why Chango would have been targeted because Chango in his past, yes he probably had spoken to people hard, because in life he's a male, you have to have that masculine way to defend yourself because if you don't speak people will take advantage of you. So he developed that strength where he said okay you can't do me anything but he doesn't mean any harm, you know. He has had his child for like 2 years or three years now. He tried to change his life. He said Anica's new year's resolution was that for the new year he'd find a female and settle down and have more kids. I said ok neighbor that's good you know that's good and so it hurt me to miss it because it's really close to home and even my younger one would have been there because they are always in that yard, but it's like what my neighbor told them, always keep the gate locked. However, he got some new tenants and they don't keep the gate locked. And I told him the other day this isn't safe because the gate wasn't locked. If the gate had been locked no one would have walked in that yard miss, honestly."
"It hurt me to miss it. honestly, it hit home because I see this young man everyday go to work and he'd say, Miss Ann, Miss Ann are you okay, so it hit home. It hit home."
Dorian Tzac leaves one child behind.
14-year-old Josue Villalta Echavarria remains in critical care at the KHMH.
