CAMALOTE, Cayo District, Wed. June 27, 2018– Thurman Parham, 44, a laborer of Camalote, is recovering at the Western Regional Hospital after being shot by Corporal Luis Matute of the Belmopan police.

Matute told police that he was at home at about 6:30 Monday evening, in his yard along with his family members, when Parham, armed with a machete, advanced towards him, uttering threatening words.

Matute, 43, said that when Parham, who lives in the village, came into the yard and advanced towards him, he identified himself as a police officer and ordered Parham to put down the machete.

According to Cpl. Matute, Parham was not deterred. Parham continued advancing toward him, and he fired a warning shot into the air.

When Parham still did not stop his advance, the corporal shot him in the leg and abdomen.

After being shot the second time, Parham ran out of the yard, into a nearby pasture.

Roaring Creek police, who went to the scene, took Parham to the Western Regional Hospital, where he was admitted in a serious but stable condition. He remains at the hospital, under police guard.

Reports are that Parham, who Corporal Matute says he has known for over ten years, was aggrieved because Corporal Matute arrested one of his relatives and another man on Sunday, so he went to pay the corporal a visit.

Commissioner of Police Allen Whylie has ordered an investigation into the shooting, and Corporal Matute’s licensed gun has been taken away, pending the outcome of the investigation, which is standard procedure when a policeman is involved in a shooting.

Presently, Corporal Matute is not on interdiction.