Belizeans will be hard-pressed to forget the violent events of last summer. A summer that we on this newscast described as exceptionally cruel to kids. It saw six children killed by violence in two months - all innocent victims of indiscriminate bullets.
Among them, was 15 year old Kassman Gill, a boy whose story sticks out because he was seldom allowed to walk Belize City's streets. And since his death, the loudest voice crying for justice has been his father a man who says he'll mourn his son every day for the rest of his life.
And this morning, one year after Kassman's untimely death his father appeared on Sunup on 7 to offer a reward for any information leading to the capture of his son's assailants. He says healing will be impossible until justice has been served.
Cecil Gill, Kassman Gill's Father
"One year later right, life you know grieving is like a one-year thing it is. It is for as long as you live. The cameras were right there where my son got shot so how come you only see up to the point where the young man is pulling the gun out but you didn't see exactly when he fired the shot because the footage stops right there. I don't know if it's the angle because it's one of those 360 cameras so that should have had that entire area there. So, the footage seems to have stopped right there. Now, the police department told me they sent the footage to the FBI. Whether they did or not I don't know but when I questioned it. They told me that the FBI could not have enhanced it because of the poor quality, and you know I find it hard to believe. Family members and friends have given us a contribution. I wish it could. Have been more and we managed to come up with a thousand dollars so far. So, we are offering the reward to anyone, any brave person you know, any concerned citizen who probably has information that could lead to the arrest of the perpetrators of this child's tragedy here, you know. Business people, you know, crime affects businesses so we want justice because part of the healing process is to see justice done right. We don't know why they shot the kid because he had hurt and done nothing to no one. He just. Went out on that occasion, that day after being locked down in COVID for so long. Right, you would think that you are protecting your children, you have them locked in and you know you keep them away from certain elements, right, but and then you give them that break you never know when tragedy is going to hit."
If you have an information leading to the capture of Kassman's assailants you can contact his father at 605-3186.
