Tonight the capital city is still reeling from the shock of a brazen early evening murder of a delivery truck driver on a heavily trafficked street.
And there's a black bow on the door of Caribbean Chicken in Belmopan to remember their employee of 3 years Mark Gabourel. Jomarie Lanza was in Belmopan today and spoke to his employer and his family:
It was not a scheduled delivery day for 55 year old Mark Gabourel, A Caribbean Chicken truck driver of Belmopan. He was targeted in broad daylight at 4:30 PM by a man on motorcycle, just outside of Sunny City Supermarket near the Immigration Office. As they were exiting the compound a motorcycle carrying two men suddenly rode in front of the truck and struck the driver's side. Gabourel stopped, believing he had hit them. At that moment, the passenger on the motorcycle raised a black in colour firearm and fired two shots toward the truck. Gabourel attempted to drive away, but a third shot was fired, striking him in the head and causing the truck to crash into the culvert. The gunman then attempted to haul open the door of the Caribbean Chicken truck but was unsuccessful and rode off.
It's becoming a common occurrence for delivery truck drivers to be robbed not only of their goods but also of their lives, and his manager says this incident has greatly impacted them as a company and a staff.
Jose Navarro, Manager, Caribbean Chicken Belmopan
"Wednesdays is not a run for him it is a day that he would do some orders and also go out and clean freezers and that would be his duties on Wednesdays. He would take some products to put back in the freezers that he cleaned and he did have some cash on him."
"For me as a manager I very often tell them cash and trucks have no value besides your life, whatever they want to take just give it in and let them take it and Mr Mark was one of that persons that he had that in himself that he often told me boss if I have to give everything I will give everything, and it sadly came to the point that they never requested money they just shoot. And it's very sad for us as a company and as a group, as a team it really touched us hard, it touched us hard in the sense that he was very responsible."
And with all the precautions Navarro took to keep his employees safe out on the roads he never imagined that an incident like this could happen in a busy intersection within the public eye.
Jose Navarro, Manager, Caribbean Chicken Belmopan
"With the situation that we had with Sarita recently try he used to do a run towards Santa Martha and back and recently with that situation he was one of the persons that saw the truck on the roadside at the time and I started to take the trip with him. He would so inside here and then he would pick me up and then we would go to Santa Martha and back we were doing it that way but sadly its right in here, very sadly right in here. We are putting things in place to try because in this situation here when I arrived at the scene when it happened the police vehicle that came just seconds after me they said they had just passed the spot, they just ran through that spot and they said they were going slow right up the street. You know, yes I believe there are measures we need to take for the safety of our workers and ourselves and we want to work on that, it is something that is being considered."
And apparently it's not the first time Gabourel was targeted. His sister recounted for us that ever since the first robbery happened she was deeply worried for her brother's safety.
Fiona Jones, Voice of Sister of Deceased
"He got held up last year sometime in Tiger town area some same scenario on a motorcycle followed them and he went to deliver at a house and a motorcycle pulled up and jumped in the truck and they ransacked the truck and when they couldn't find anything they went all the way in where Mark was delivering and they took away $600 from him so every time I was always worried for his safety because he goes to work really early he is the last one to leave and he is always ensuring that he gets all his things done for the day so I was always cornered for his life for his safety."
"The sideman is a 15 year old boy and thankfully he didn't get hurt but I understand from his boss that when Mark got shot his body fell on the sideman so he was very traumatized and I believe after that shot they just didn't want to. I'm not sure how many shots were fired but I don't have the exact details but it was several because they opened fire at the truck so when they shot him, he fell and his boss has explained to us that the sideman is very traumatized."
It's a traumatic incident for the family as well, especially for Gabourel's 2 daughters now left without a single Dad who raised them and did any and everything for them.
Fiona Jones, Voice of Sister of Deceased
"It's very hard, very very hard. Mark was a very good person, hardworking, he did everything for his girls he would take off his last shirt off his back for them, he sacrificed himself so much, very dependable and so it is very hard for us to accept this at this time."
