Four Charged After Gunfire Erupts Outside Belize City Nightclub

Police have formally charged four persons following a shooting incident outside the Midnight Lounge and Night Club on Newtown Barracks early Friday morning. The incident occurred around 2:30 on Friday and reportedly began over a dispute inside the nightclub. Police say a verbal altercation involving 28-year- old Guadalupe Pedro Escalante of Raccoon Street and 19-year-old Kenyon Maskall of Maskall Street escalated after the men exited the establishment. This resulted in an exchange of gunfire outside the venue. Officers responding to reports of shots fired and found multiple expended shells scattered along the street. Assistant Superintendent of Police Stacy Smith addressed the matter at a press briefing in Belize City Queen Street Police Station. 

Stacy Smith, Assistant Superintendent of Police: “Police have arrested and charged four persons, three males and one female as a consequence of an investigation into a shooting incident that occurred at around 3:00 a.m. on the morning of 16 January 2026 on Newtown Barracks Belize City. Guadalupe Escalante, 28 years of age, a Belizeana laborer of Raccoon Street and Kenyon Maskall, a 19 years of age of Belize City were jointly charged for the offense of kept firearm without a gun license and kept ammunition without a gun licenses. Both of these individuals were charged separately for discharging firearm in public. The other individuals who were arrested were Norman Grant, 20 years of age an unemployed of Amara Avenue and Sherie Card 31 years of age a Belizean laborer of Tigris Street who were both jointly charged for the offense of kept firearm without a gun license and kept ammunition without a gun license. The investigation commenced on the aforementioned date and time when officers were alerted to sounds of shots being fired on Newtown Barracks. The officers responded and a vehicle of interest was identified being a red Kia Soul. A search was conducted on that vehicle which resulted in the discovery of one .38 revolver, five expended shells and twenty four live rounds of .38 ammunition. Maskall and Escalante were charged for the firearm related offenses in relation to this discovery. The investigators were aware that a second vehicle was involved in this incident having reviewed footage from Police Control Room and Fusion Center and at about 1:45pm on 16 January 2026 GI3 personelle having gathered intel and conducted a covert surveillance intercepted a black Ford Escape on Tigris Street believed to be the second vehicle that was involved in the incident. On board that vehicle were Grant and Card and a search of that vehicle resulted in the discovery of a black in color 9mm Taurus brand pistol and a magazine containing four live rounds of 9mm ammunition. Both firearms have since been sealed and submitted to the National Forensic  and Science Services Laboratory of testing.”

During police interviews, Maskall admitted to firing a weapon but claimed he acted in self-defense after occupants of the Ford Escape allegedly shot at him. Escalante declined to give a statement. Escalante and Maskall were jointly charged with discharging a firearm in public, keeping a firearm without a license, and keeping ammunition without a license. Grant and Card were charged separately with keeping an unlicensed firearm and ammunition. In court, Maskall initially pleaded guilty to one charge but later changed his plea to not guilty after being informed of the possible prison sentence. Both Escalante and Maskall were denied bail and remanded to the Belize Central Prison. They are scheduled to return to court on February 27.