And, from politics to crime….December is usually a time for Christmas cheer, but for one southern family, they'll be grieving the loss of their relative slain in Belize City. 29-year-old Albert Valentine was murdered this morning in the Iguana Street area. But this wasn't the first time Valentine had been shot. Courtney Menzies has this story.
The first murder of the holiday season was recorded this morning at around 7:30. Gunshots were fired off at the corner of Iguana and Elston Kerr Streets, and 29-year-old Albert Valentine was the victim.
Valentine narrowly escaped death a little over four years ago, in 2019, when he was shot in Punta Gorda. He miraculously survived the incident, and moved to Belize City, where he was targeted once again.
Only this time, he wasn't so lucky.
One resident in the area told us that he'd just bought tacos for breakfast when the shots were fired.
Voice of: Resident
"I was inside and I heard the two shots, first I thought it was pop shots but the way it sounded, I said, that's gunshots so I ran out and when I saw people running to the corner of the next lane, well, I ran too because I know my son always goes down that side and when we got down there we saw the boy down in the drain and he was still breathing so a couple of us yelled and said, get him out, and somebody said call the police. The police didn't really take long, like 3 or 4 minutes, like they were in the area, and when they came, two of them, along with other bystanders, got him out of the drain and put him in the truck and they left."
"They said he went by the shop to buy something for breakfast and that's about it."
Courtney Menzies:
"Have you ever seen the victim in this area before?"
Voice of: Resident
"No, I haven't so I don't know, but we have a lot of new faces because they're fixing the street and the drains and like that and so a lot of new faces are around so I don't know the person."
And while the entire city has been relatively calm in terms of gang related violence, this resident said it has been years since someone was shot in the area, and now their sense of safety is gone.
Voice of: Resident
"The last was like two years ago when my nephew got shot right here in the yard, and since then, nothing out this side, we have all the way to the back, Iguana Street and Emmanuel, but not on this side."
Courtney Menzies:
"Seeing as this happened in daylight, a lot of people were on the street, maybe going to work, going to school, do you feel a little unsafe?"
Voice of: Resident
"Yes, of course, because my grandson was just about to get on his cycle to go to work, my daughter was ready to go to work, everybody getting out, school children walking, it was real scary."
Reporter:
"So the police booth that they have right around the corner, you don't feel it's effective?"
Voice of: Resident
"Well maybe its effective on that street but on this street, no, because it's a good distance away from here anyway so it's good to have them close by anyway, but to say that it affects this area where I live, I would say no."
Valentine reportedly lived in the Jane Usher area and was part of the team renovating the infrastructure in the area he was killed.
