Amidst massive public outcry on the airwaves this morning, in the wake of Saturday’s indiscriminate shooting and hand grenade scare near the end of the Carnival Road March, Prime Minister Dean Barrow, flanked by his Minister of National Security, Carlos Perdomo, called the media to a press briefing this afternoon at the Racoon Street Police Station’s conference room.
“The police high command is very much engaged and very much aware of how much the rules of the game have changed….,” said Prime Minister Barrow. “The question of the grenade is especially worrying. Government will do all that it can to backstop this situation. This has to be seen as a kind of urban terrorism.”
Barrow said that he feels profound regret for what happened, and gave his assurance “…that the security forces are going to redouble their efforts for the rest of the holidays.”
Commissioner of Police Gerald Westby said that the police were quick to respond to Saturday’s incidents.
“We will reinforce even more for the upcoming celebrations,” Westby said. “The explosive trained dog that is at the airport will be brought in and used.”
P.M. Barrow said that the security forces did a very good job on Saturday and they should be commended.
BDF Major James Requeña safely retrieved the grenade.
The grenade is a highly explosive fragmentation device, designed for military offensive use, said Requeña.
Assistant Commissioner Crispin Jeffries, Sr., said that the fact that the parade would have ended outside the Marion Jones Sports Complex was a challenge for the police.
“The material time of the shooting saw a stampede. A male ran through the mangrove but was not caught. He had a firearm,” he added.
Jeffries said that the hand grenades that have been turning up in the streets of Belize City are closely related to the drug trade. Saturday’s grenade was wrapped in a black plastic bag, that is why it did not explode, Jeffries offered.
“We have a number of persons detained; included is one person who had a grenade. The threat is still there,” Jeffries told the media.
He said that the police are honing in on four persons who may know about the other grenades that are in the country.
Police say they will also seek to retain the services of a retired ordinance and explosive specialist from the BDF, refocus Special Branch intelligence gathering, and collaborate with INTERPOL to help trace the origin of these hand grenades.