Tonight, police have dispatched 15 SPU officers and four mobiles, as well as two GI3 officers to the twin towns of San Ignacio and Santa Elena. They are there to suppress escalating gang violence and stop robberies.
On Friday we told you that 12 businesses had been robbed in 9 months, plus a businessman was robbed and murdered last week.
And then on Saturday, a prominent gang figure, David Galindo died from his injuries - after he was shot a week earlier.
And, tonight there is a shocking first hand account of the brazen-ness of his gang affiliates.
It comes from the voice recording of a Doctor at the San Ignacio Community Hospital - who describes in detail a night of terror inside the facility.
Jules Vasquez reports:
On the night of Saturday June first, David Galindo was rushed to the San Ignacio Community Hospital - SICH for short - around midnight.
The 29 year old had been shot to the abdomen. He was rushed through these doors into the emergency room with an escort of violent gang members - who threatened doctors - saying they had to treat him immediately and save his life. One of them followed him into the trauma room where he was being treated.
This is a recording of one Doctor's narration of the event to other medical staff - we have distorted his voice so that he cannot be identified:
Voice of Doctor on shift:
"And he was refusing to leave and he was actually on us saying "deal with him, deal with him right now, you have to save his life!" And we were trying to move around and we couldn't because the guy was there. And when he was leaving he said unu better save his life or all a unu gwen effing dead right ya."
Terrifying and made more so because during this time they had no police protection:
Voice of Doctor on shift:
"I think they started banging the police car and that's when the police just fled the scene. They just dropped him off and gone; left us alone right there."
And the gangsters prowled the emergency area - terrorizing the 13 patients and those waiting to be treated.
Voice of Doctor on shift:
"We had patients detained there with kids, everybody was just scared, the kids and their father just ran away, and we had a couple of foreigners that we had to hide them into the other room because of their safety."
One of the gangsters punched through this glass on the emergency room door - causing an eruption of bleeding - and the same doctor whose life he had just threatened had to treat him.
Meanwhile, the other doctors worked feverishly to stabilize Galindo and determined that he had to be taken to the Western Regional Hospital in Belmopan. That meant an ambulance transfer:
Voice of Doctor on shift:
"And they were demanding that someone had to be in the ambulance to accompany the patient. That he cannot go alone. They have to ensure that he's alive."
"And di try set up the IV site, we di try start the patient, we di try, you know, get everything ready, and they are punching, unu effing goh, unu goh, and they started punching the ambulance, even dent the ambulance, kick the ambulance, all of them shaking the ambulance, that I when I told the driver, just take off."
Take off with one gang member in the vehicle and who knows how many waiting to pounce? The Doctor told the driver, to go into stealth mode:
Voice of Doctor on shift:
"So we told Mr. Cocom please don't make any noise with the ambulance at least when we get out of Santa Elena, you understand? We didn't know if they would stop us on the road, shoot us on the road because of the leader of the gang going in."
Fortunately, Galindo survived the journey - but what if he hadn't?:
Voice of Doctor on shift:
"If he had died, mussy all a we mi gwen dead right deh."
And what has had a kind of death is, the medical staff's sense of security on their job:
Voice of Doctor on shift:
"We informed our Chief of Staff, nobody showed up. We ended off our shift, and nobody showed up."
"Nobody reached out and asked "unu ok?" Anybody was hurt? We felt alone, we felt helpless."
"We coulda mi get kill, we coulda mi get hurt, then who mi when tend to we right deh. Nobody!"
A harrowing narration and the Commissioner of Police says he's appalled:
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"Well I am appalled by it. I must say I got a call the following morning from a doctor, the head doctor at the Western Regional Hospital and right away I put him on to Ms Anderson who is his Western Regional Commander and the matter was addressed. Police have gathered either footages as well so we know exactly who the persons are that are responsible. From then to now we have not been able to locate those persons. One of the first concerns is I think a Minor Galindo is one of them, and since then he has not been seen in the San Ignacio area. We understand he had fled somewhere, the fact that his brother had passed away we believe that might bring him out of his hole and once he is found then he will be dealt with along with another person who were two main aggressors at the hospital but again we condemn the actions done at the hospital and I do agree with you on your show this morning that the police ought to have done more to protect the hospital. Just dropping off the prisoner there knowing that he was a high profile prisoner was not the right thing to do. They ought to have stayed there and ensured that proper security was maintained as we do at the KHMH when a gang member is shot. So we take responsibility for that and we will ensure that in the future should there be any recurrence that the police will have a good system in place to respond."
But there will need to be a lot of confidence building to restore these shaken but resilient medical professionals:
Voice of Doctor on shift:
"This da di second time it di happen to me. Nothing is being done. Personally to me,I noh feel safe to come back da work."
A statement from Dr. Jorge Polanco who is heading the investigation at the Ministry of Health says, quote, "The Ministry is aware of the incident and we have taken action. Contrary to reports on the media and based on our initial statements and reports to the Ministry, this was not a security collapse but a violent intrusion into the hospital. We continue to address the issues from that incident with staff including the offer for psychosocial support for anyone upon request. We are working with all relevant partners at this time to ensure that there is not a reoccurrence of this unfortunate incident where staff and visitors at the hospital feel they are in an unsafe environment." End quote.
