The recent spike in major crimes continued over the weekend when a man was fatally shot while he was spending time with his friends and family. 44-year-old Dwayne White was killed on Friday night, sometime around 11:30, by a gunman who rushed into his brother's yard.
And hanging out in that yard had been a routine for White for a while, but according to his family, he had stopped going. So, they were shocked to hear that it was right in that yard that he was killed. Especially, on the same day he was to graduate from the Department of Youth Service's training program.
Today, Courtney Menzies visited his family's home, and has this story.
Nine children are left without their father after 44-year-old Dwayne White was gunned down as he sat inside his brother's yard on Friday night. A gunman had reportedly barged into the yard on Antelope Street Extension and opened fire. White later passed away at the hospital, leaving his large family with a massive loss.
But it is his children, most of whom had already lost their mother, that now have to contend with losing another parent.
Voice of: Lenika White, Daughter of Deceased
"I wasn't always around my daddy because I live in Silk Grass village but I love my daddy more than anything and no matter what, any time I come around my daddy, he happy to see me and I more than happy to see him. And he would always come and he would rub my head and say, how are you doing, and if you're alright and I'd say, yes, dad, I'm good. And I'd say okay, remember I always love you, and I'd say yes, dad I know, and I love you too. And I just, I really wanted to come see him because I hadn't seen it from March, I was supposed to come see him in this week, and now I can't see him again."
"My daddy used to always like, he just was a chill person and he always makes everybody laugh and I would never think my dad would be gone by gun violence. I didn't think that would ever happen. I always thought I would have more time with him and he would get to be with his grand baby. I wasn't ready for him to be gone."
And now this family wants to know, why?
That's what the police are trying to find out. They have several suspects detained, but they say that their information is pointing towards underworld activities being part of the reasons for this murder.
ASP Fitzroy Yearwood, Communications Officer
"We have to be real, we are in Belize City, that area is known for the sale of several illegal narcotics so it would want to appear that this is as a result of the sale of illegal narcotics. We have our operational teams out there trying to do their best in bringing an arrest for this murder and at the same time trying to apprehend these how to say, illegal vendors. I know that for the past week or so you have seen where we have had several busts and some found property in large quantities countrywide, and we will not stop this operation. We are trying our best to clean the streets of these illegal narcotics and our operations team will be pushing out there."
"We haven't established a true motive but we are examining several and from what we are picking up in the neighbourhood it would want to sound like a turf war and like I said we can't go by just hearsay so we are trying to establish a motive."
But while there is no concrete motive at this point, White's family is adamant that he wasn't involved in any sort of criminal activity:
Voice of: Alisha White, Daughter of Deceased
"My dad wasn't in gang or he wasn't doing drugs. He was a fun energetic person, always giving people jokes and stuff like that. He wasn't a gang person."
Reporter
"And he wasn't associated with those types of persons either?"
Voice of: Alisha White, Daughter of Deceased
"No, once you see our father, he's always with his children or family members. He didn't trouble anybody."
And now this family is just trying to heal together:
Voice of: Lenika White, Daughter of Deceased "We're all trying, we're trying to be strong for nana and for each other."
