And from that fatal accidental shooting in Belmopan we now report a fatal stabbing in Dangriga Town - and this one was no accident.
The victim has been identified as Ronald Lloyd Gill, a 38-year-old resident of the Lakeland Area of the Culture Capital. On Saturday afternoon at around 12:45 p.m., Gill was at a fast food stall on George Price Drive - reported drinking rum bitters and behaving boisterously to the patrons. In addition, he reportedly exchanged words with a person with whom he'd had some prior dispute the weekend before.
That hard talk escalated when the man Gill was arguing with allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed him multiple times to the chest, the left hand, and the back. He was rushed to the Southern Regional Hospital, but succumbed several minutes after an ER doctor tried to treat the eight stab wounds.
Here's what ASP Fitzroy Yearwood, the police public relations officer, had to say about their early investigation into the stabbing death of Ronald Gill:
ASP Fitzroy Yearwood - Public Relations, Police Department
"Sometime around 12:45 p.m. on George Price Drive in the Stann Creek District, where we were informed that run a run on Lloyd Gill, a 38-year-old Belizean laborer of the Lakeland Area, Dangriga, was transported to the Southern Regional Hospital. Initial investigation revealed that on that day, around noon, Mr. Gill was at a fast food establishment on George Price Drive when a male person known to him approached him. An argument ensued between both men, and it is alleged that the male person pulled a knife from his waist and inflicted several stab wounds to Mr. Gill's body, which resulted in his untimely death. I know that investigators have someone detained, and hopefully, by the end of today, we will be able to levy charges against that person."
Daniel Ortiz
"Sir. I noted that one, at this time, it is being treated as a death investigation. As compared to murder. And 2, there was information suggesting that this might have been an offshoot of a previous quarrel. Can you provide insights on those 2?"
ASP Fitzroy Yearwood
"Well, we have been informed that it's an ongoing back-and-forth argument between the deceased and the person we have in custody. But at the same time, no argument would want you to take someone's life. So, we are just waiting for directives. And then, we will know exactly what we will charge that person. A life has been lost, and we're investigating that loss of life. That doesn't mean that it would be discounted anyway, in any manner. If it's a murder, he will be charged for it. If it's a directive that we must start for manslaughter, we will do that."
At this time, police are treating this incident as a death investigation and not as murder.
