Weekend Murder: Mark “Pito” Waight Shot Dead After Argument

The country recorded its eighth murder over the weekend in Belize City with the fatal shooting of 24-year-old Mark “Pito” Waight. On Saturday night, the Reggae Street resident was gunned down after an argument between friends led to shots being fired. Around 10 o’clock, Waight was socializing with several other people on Central American Boulevard when he began to argue with another man. Police say the man then pulled a 9 mm pistol and opened fire on Waight, hitting him and 33-year-old Francene Herbert. Waight then fell into a nearby drain and died before police arrived on the scene. Meanwhile, Herbert, a Pitter Street resident, was taken to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, where she remains in critical condition after undergoing surgery.  Police have since reviewed surveillance footage and detained a 22-year-old construction worker. Minister of Home Affairs Kareem Musa weighed in on the homicide and stated that while it remains under investigation, it is not believed to be gang related. 

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs: “I’ve only received a preliminary briefing from what we understand at this preliminary stage. It is not necessarily a gang-related murder. From what I have been made to understand, these young men were associating, were socializing together an argument thereafter ensued which resulted in the loss of life. And so, of course, we offer our condolences to the family of the victim.”

Waight was no stranger to police, spending several stints in prison for various alleged crimes. In June 2019, he was acquitted of the murder of Amandala journalist, Kareem Clarke, a crime he was accused of committing as a minor. And, in December 2019, he was acquitted of the attempted murder of Jamilia Neal.