A Single Shot, a Dead Teen, and Three Minors Now Accused

A young man is dead, and three teenagers are now accused of pulling off a daylight killing that rattled a Belize City neighborhood. Police have charged two seventeen-year-olds and a fifteen-year-old in connection with the murder of eighteen-year-old Ewart Josiah Hernandez Jr., who was shot on Vernon Street on Monday afternoon. It happened shortly after 1:15 near Swift Hall, where investigators say Hernandez had stopped on his motorcycle. That is when two males reportedly walked up to him. One of them pulled out a firearm and fired a single shot. Hernandez was hit, rushed for treatment, and later died from his injuries. Police moved quickly in the days after the shooting, leaning heavily on surveillance footage from the area to identify and track the suspects. One person was detained shortly after the murder, while officers searched for another and carried out operations in the surrounding neighborhood. Several young men from a nearby property were also taken in for questioning as investigators worked to determine what happened. But even with three minors now facing charges, one major question remains unanswered: why was Hernandez targeted in broad daylight?

 

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