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But back to the murder victim, Seaman Apprentice Charles James had been an officer of the Coast Guard since 2019.
Admiral Elton Bennett told us today that an atmosphere of utter disbelief has settled over the other officers, including himself. And he said that he couldn't think of a reason why James would have been targeted this way.
Admiral Elton Bennett, Commandant, Belize Coast Guard
"This was a shocker to me as it would shock any member of the Coast Guard at this point in time that we would have lost a fellow Coast Guardsman to violence of this nature, so it was a shocking experience, not only for myself but for every member of the Coast Guard."
"I'm not aware of any reports or incidents that would involve Charles James in any situation at all that would put him in this position."
"He was in service for about four and a half years, he graduated in November 2019. He has been on the job since then continuous, he was employed in Coast Guard first fleet, that's routine operations out at sea. He recently came in from deployment and he was at home on his shore leave when the incident occurred."
"It's a sad day for the Belize Coast Guard, losing someone, especially to this nature of gun violence. So we're now in the early stages of organizing a funeral, we have already started engagement with his family and his next of kin to determine to what extent the Belize Coast Guard will be supporting the funeral."
