Mechanic Shot Near Primary School in Latest City Gun Attack

Gun violence is once again rattling Belize City, with four attempted murders reported since Friday. The most recent occurred just after 10 o’clock this morning on the city’s south side.  A Belize City mechanic, 31-year-old Andre Kerr, was shot multiple times in a targeted attack near Grace Primary School on Faber’s Road.  Kerr, a resident of Custard Apple Street, was struck in the eye, shoulder, and arm, and was transported to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital and remains in stable condition. Love News spoke with the Commissioner of Police, Dr. Richard Rosado to get some feedback on the investigation. 

Dr. Richard Rosado, Commissioner of Police: “The shooting appeared to be a targeted attack and we are pursuing all leads to apprehend the suspect and we urge anyone with information to come forward and assist with in this investigation. My officers them are working around the clock. We have increased visibility in all those hot spots. We are also monitoring the situation on the ground and we are conducting targeted operations especially in those areas of concern. We have also increased the police visibility within the perimeters of all those areas of interest. We do believe that the shooting is as a result of escalating gun tension between rival groups.”

The incident unfolded as students gathered at Grace Primary School for summer classes, prompting school officials to immediately suspend sessions and contact parents as a safety precaution. According to the Commissioner, the attack was carried out by two assailants on a motorcycle. One eyewitness, speaking from the crime scene, called on the Police Department to increase its presence in the Faber’s Road area, citing ongoing concerns about safety and violence in the community.

Grandparent of Student: “This morning I came and I brought my grand-daughter to school and on my way back as I went over there by the Chinese shop. I heard an amount of shots like a machine gun and when I looked back I saw this brown car run underneath that bus. So immediately I spin around and I came back and when I came here, man, like two or three guys are here full of blood and inside the vehicle. Kind of scary to know we have our kids coming to this school and something like this to happen in front of a school like this, man, you know these guys have to hold it down. When I heard the shot and I span around and I see the vicinity of where the car ran under the bus I already knew that my granddaughter was already in class but yet still I came back to see what happened because bullets don’t have a name and they could be flying all around over the place and that kind of gun that these guys shooting, man, I worried about my granddaughter. Immediately I came back to see what was going on. This really upset me because this area you know there’s a lot of kids man and these guys have to watch what they’re doing. Anybody could have been in this crossfire here. It’s just a random shooting and a lot of shots. Look how much shell on the ground there the policeman looking at. We need more patrols. I think the patrols are too limited. Belize we need more police. The population is getting larger and we need more police and that’s the bottom line we can’t do the proper job with the little policing we have.”

Dr. Rosado confirmed that the police are pursuing two persons of interest