BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Feb. 26, 2015–A Freedom Street resident who was blasted moments after he had stepped outside his yard at about 9:30 a.m. yesterday, Wednesday, died early this morning while undergoing treatment at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital.
According to police, Ian Adolphus, Jr., 21, also known as “Uno”, was walking near his home on Freedom Street in the Port Loyola area, and upon reaching its intersection with Justice Street, he came under fire from a dark-complexioned gunman on a bicycle who ambushed and then shot him in the arm and chest in broad daylight.
Adolphus – who suffered gunshot injuries to the right elbow, right shoulder, and left side of the chest – had been clinging to life in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the KHMH until he succumbed to his injuries 19 hours later, at 4:35 a.m. today.
Senior Superintendent Alden Dawson, Officer in Charge of Precinct Two – Belize City police, told Amandala today that investigators are still trying to establish a motive for the shooting, and that they are seeking a suspect who they believe was the gunman.
Police have not classified the shooting-turned-murder as gang-related, even though the area where Adolphus – who, on his social media page, professed to be affiliated with a nest of gangs in that area –was shot, is located in the vicinity of Jane Usher Boulevard, a traditional hotspot for gang activity.
Dawson added that the area, however, had been relatively quiet in the past few weeks due to increased police patrols and continued community cooperation.
Interestingly, a team of police officers had just patrolled the area minutes before the lurking gunman targeted Adolphus.
The victim’s family has since declined requests by the media for an interview, but we understand that “Uno” was a well-known neighborhood basketball player.
Although area residents told us that there is fear of retaliation in the community in the wake of the incident, in light of the traditional pattern of gang-related hostilities in the city, Sr. Supt. Dawson, during a police press briefing after the incident yesterday, sought to assure residents of the area that they will keep tensions under tight control to prevent such occurrences.
There hasn’t been a murder in Belize City for over a month, since the fatal stabbing of BDF volunteer, Denver Villafranco, 23, who was attacked and murdered by two brothers on Complex Avenue in the Lake Independence area at about 7:20 p.m. on January 17 of this year.