20-year-old Karina Andrews, a mother of a baby boy, had just accepted a job offer that allowed her to move from Dangriga to Belmopan and to be closer to her boyfriend of about four years.
She was just beginning to settle in, when a bullet wrenched the life from out of her.
Andrews and her friends had left Stars Restaurant and Club sometime after noticing someone observing them. That same person allegedly got into an SUV, followed them, and opened fire on their vehicle. Four victims were shot - including Andrews.
But the young mother didn't make it, and it has devastated everyone who was close to her. Courtney Menzies travelled west today and has this story.
A 20-year-old mother of one found herself in the middle of a gang war on Saturday night as she was leaving a restaurant in Belmopan. Karina Andrews just wanted to enjoy a night out, but the van she was traveling in came under fire as they slowed to cross this bump.
She and three others were shot by assailants who were inside a Honda SUV - gunmen whom they had recognized were keeping tabs on them at the restaurant.
Andrews succumbed to the gunshot and those closest to her are trying to comprehend how she went from a happy mother to a murder victim. Her mother-in-law saw her before she left the house and explained that her common-law husband had tried to discourage her from leaving.
Voice of: Dorita Galvez, Mother-In-Law
"She told me she wanted to go out, right in front of my son, my son told her no, you're not going. She's like I want to go, I work hard, I need a little break so between that time, my son was trying to wake the baby I guess so that she would stay. So I told him, leave her, let her go, I'll watch the baby. And that's when he said, okay, I'll take you, and he was the one who dropped them at Stars Club."
And the police's investigation is well underway - they have the Honda SUV in their custody and are looking for two suspects. But up to today, they still hadn't determined who exactly was the shooter's target.
Courtney Menzies:
"Do you know if she was the intended target and what the motive was?"
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"Perhaps she could be and there are other persons that could've been the intended target. We do believe the motive is gang related. You will know that we've had, over the past year, we have had a number of incidents in Roaring Creek involving the different groups. We had done some mediation and quelled it to some extent but it seems like it wants to rear its ugly head again and so we certainly are on the ground making sure we do what needs to be done to avert any possible retaliation."
Courtney Menzies:
"As far as you know, has her name ever come up in other investigations or has she had any run-ins with the police?"
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"Yes her name is not new to police, I'm not saying that she's a gang member but you would know that if it is you are affiliated with gang members, then you become a target as well. And it is rather unfortunate because the truth is no one deserved to die the way she did."
But her family is positive that she wasn't the target since she wasn't even supposed to be in the van in the first place. She had initially been waiting for her common-law husband to pick her up but decided to catch a ride. And that small twist of fate has forever changed her husband's and son's lives.
Voice of: Dorita Galvez, Mother-In-Law
"He's taking it really hard and we are taking it really hard, I can't imagine her mom and her other family members. Karina was like a daughter, she was my daughter in law, but more like a daughter to me. This is a big loss for my family, very, very big."
"She was very kind, she was always happy, always smiling, Karina always had a big smile on her face, she was a party person. When she walked in any room, she would light up that whole place, she was very loving and Karina was a happy, happy young girl."
"A happy girl with a small family, starting her life in a new environment. Andrews had just moved to Belmopan a couple of weeks ago after she got a job at T&J's Boutique. Her manager said that even though she was new, she had already made an impression on them."
Tricia Brown, Store Manager
"She has been working with us for a week and a half, I actually just met her Wednesday, I hired her last week and Margarita has been working with her for a week and a half but the person that I met when I came in was an amazing human being. She was polite, respectful, she was very sweet. Right away my spirit took to her."
"She was such a likable, sweet person and it's a real tragedy that has occurred and we here, we feel like we've known her for years. We were crying together on the phone crying because it's someone we just felt so warm and loving towards after just a week and a half so she's someone that will be sadly missed here, definitely."
Andrews had been with her common-law husband for about four years, and her son is only one-year-old.
The other victims, 23-year-old Joshua Jones, 28-year-old Devon Vasquez, and 26-year-old Emerson Rhaburn are all listed in stable condition.
