Victim Speaks After Belize City Shooting

Gunfire erupted Tuesday night just after 7:30 in Belize City’s Lake Independence area on M & J Street near La Croix Boulevard. The attack left two teenage boys and a 60-year-old woman injured.

All three victims were rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. Two have been released, while one remains hospitalised.

One of the victims, Julia Vialto, was shot in the foot and is now home recovering. ““I was on my way to a church service when I saw a guy riding toward me on a bicycle. Then someone else came out from another street, and suddenly I heard gunshots,” she told News 5. “I immediately threw myself to the left side of the street, but one of the bullets hit my foot. After that, everything happened so fast, and I don’t remember what happened. I managed to get to a neighbour’s house, and they were the ones who helped me and took me to the hospital.”

Vialto said she remains shaken and warned about rising violence in the city, adding, “This experience has me frightened. It’s been so insecure here in the city; we are scared. They have to put a bit more strictness in the country, because innocent people will lose their lives.”

Police, BDF soldiers, and GI3 officers have increased patrols in the area.

No arrests have been reported.