Yesterday's wild shootout in the north was drug related. That's not exactly surprising but it was confirmed by the Commissioner of Police today.
But, first, we've put together a story line with a rough approximation of what happened. It started just after 1:00 when Benigno Loria was parked on the shoulder of the road coming out of Pueblo Nuevo, Corozal along with Randolph Crawford and Sergio Hall. That's when another vehicle pulled up and they came under attack. Jules Vasquez put together a sequence of events for the wild shootout that followed:
This was the hand of Corozal resident Randolph Crawford as he flailed in the New River at the Pueblo Nuevo ferry yesterday afternoon around 1:15. Randolph had jumped out of this GMC Terrain to escape a barrage of gunfire coming from two men who pulled up in a Ford Escape, and opened fire, reportedly with an AK47 and a 9 millimeter pistol. The other two men in the GMC,
30 year old Benigno Loria, and 20 year old Sergio Hall, both Corozal residents received various gunshot injuries.
But, Randolph sank below the depths of the river, leaving a coast guard to look for him.
Police combed the scene for clues and found 41.223 and 9 mm expended shells along with some live rounds.
Also, inside this vehicle they found an A4 Carbine rifle and a 9 millimeter pistol.
Benigno and Hall drove to the Northern Medical Plaza while the Ford Escape that had pursued them, overturned on the Progresso Road - with both the driver and the passenger sustaining injury.
And while Randolph Crawford is believed to have drowned, police today stressed that Crawford has not been found at this time - so they can draw no conclusions on his status.
