It’s a tragedy that’s shaken the nation to its core. A Belize City mother and her paralyzed son, Evadnie and Luke Jones, were brutally gunned down in cold blood on Friday night, right in their own yard on Cedar Street. The double murder has left the community reeling, and the country demanding answers. What makes this even more chilling is the possible motive. Just hours before the attack, Patrick “Pato” Jones, Evadnie’s son and Luke’s brother, posted a video on TikTok from the U.S., taunting a rival gang. That video may have triggered a deadly chain reaction, one that ended in the loss of two innocent lives.
It was a crime that unfolded in silence and went unnoticed for nearly a full day. Under the cover of darkness, gunmen ambushed an elderly woman and her disabled adult son in their own yard. By the time police discovered the scene, almost twenty hours later, it was too late. Sixty-nine-year-old Evadnie Jones and her son, Luke Jones, were already gone. The community is heartbroken. Evadnie was known for her warmth, and Luke, who spent his days near La Popular Bakery, was a familiar face to many. He often sat outside, asking for small donations, and had formed a close friendship with a security guard known as “Primo.”
Voice of: Hector “Primo”, Friend of Deceased
“Yes he was really my good friend, I lost my good friend. My good friend I lost. Bway everybody we cant believe it, because I close the shop Friday and I sent him home on Friday in the night and the thing happened like quarter to eight, seven thirty, and dah my boss told me Saturday when I came from work from here to the next one, and my boss told me bway dah Luke. And we were surprised, because he us e to go like ten o’clock Saturday, almost the hour, every time he use to go. But we didn’t see him Saturday and I said that is not normal. But only when the bad weather he didn’t come, but when he come we get surprised, but we didn’t know it was him.”
He was a friend to many and a threat to no one. But on that tragic night, Luke Jones was found lying in a pool of blood at his front gate, right beside his mother, Evadnie, on Cedar Street. Tonight, the heartbreak is still fresh, and so is the outrage. Kenneth “Big Tom” Flowers, a former neighbor and someone who knew the family well, is speaking out. He’s condemning the brutal act that took two innocent lives and left an entire community in shock.
Kenneth “Big Tom” Flowers, Belize City Resident
“I feel that pain from the day before because that incident happened from the night and people text me and asked if I did not hear the shot. So I want to know how the people deh nuh inform the police and why the police did not come check that they heard gunfire. and these people, they say, were right by the gate.”
Paul Lopez
“What poses a man to kill an innocent woman and her disabled son, in the thick of gang warfare?”
“You have to remember that all the children broken, all the kids broken. The incident happened because that individual on that other side has a problem with somebody on the other side and that person has family right beside he, you understand. The individual weh deh round deh should have given them advice to think twice to go do that situation, because that parent had nothing to do with the violence and then Lukey had nothing to do with that, because he disabled from the day he was born.”
Just hours after Patrick “Pato” Jones went live on TikTok, challenging a rival group in Belize and mentioning his mother during the broadcast, tragedy struck. His mother and his disabled brother were gunned down outside their home on Cedar Street. The timing of the attack has raised serious concerns, as the shots that ended their lives rang out shortly after the video was posted. Now, many are questioning whether a social media post may have triggered a deadly act of retaliation.
Patrick “Pato” Jones, Relative of Deceased
“Only my mah unu could play with. Bway please bro.”
Dr. Richard Rosado, Commissioner of Police
“We are following strong leads and we do have persons of interest that I do not want to disclose to protect the integrity of the investigation.”
Paul Lopez
“You said you will not rest until justice is served.”
“We have deployed all available investigative resources and our investigators are on the ground meticulously collecting evidential material for us to be able to identify and bring the perpetrator to justice.”
In response to the recent double homicide, Opposition Leader Tracy Taegar-Panton voiced deep concern over the rise in gang-related violence. She urged the government to bring back and properly fund community policing, rebuild public trust in law enforcement, and work closely with civil society to promote peace and restore safety in Belizean communities. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.
