BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Mar. 5, 2020– Michael Barrera, 52, a former counselor and youth activist at the CYDP (Conscious Youth Development Program) who was a father of 7 children, stopped at a Chinese fast-food restaurant at the corner of Central American Boulevard and Iguana Street at about 4:30 Tuesday evening and ended up losing his life.

Barrera was riding his bicycle on his way to his home on Raccoon Street Extension when he stopped at the restaurant. While Barrera was standing outside the restaurant, a gunman who had failed in his attempt to kill a man he had been pursuing, turned toward Barrera and shot him in the head. The gunman then ran into Iguana Street and disappeared.

Michael Barrera died immediately in front of the restaurant. A resident of the area said that he heard the gunshots and looked out to investigate, and saw a man running out of the area and another man lying motionless on the sidewalk.

Barrera was taken to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, where he was officially declared dead.

Reliable information to us is that Barrera was talking to a man who was also making a purchase at the food stand when the man saw another man coming towards them, and he sprinted away and jumped into a city bus that was passing at the time, and escaped.

The gunman got angry because his victim got away, so he shot Barrera in the head. He then ran into Iguana Street.

Police said that after viewing footage recorded by security cameras mounted in the area, they have detained a suspect.

ASP Alejandro Cowo said that Barrera was not the target of the gunman, that it was the man who had been in conversation with Barrera and who had gotten away. He said that acts of gang retaliation are taking place, and the gunman’s target was a rival gang member.

We visited Barrera’s family, and his cousin, Grace Flowers, a Senior Justice of the Peace, told us that Barrera was at their house earlier and was talking about various things, and sharing jokes. He then said that he was going to his home on Raccoon Street Extension, and he left their house.

Shortly after, they got information that Barrera had been shot. There was disbelief and confusion, and after the family submitted his photo to police, it was confirmed that it was him.

Barrera, Flowers said, was a youth activist. He helped people in many ways, and he was a former counselor at Conscious Youth Development Program (CYDP) and was waiting for his contract to be renewed so that he could resume being a counselor for the program.

Barrera was living in the United States with his wife and three children, but he returned to Belize and began a new family, which resulted in three children. He was well-liked and was willing to assist others, Flowers said.

Flowers was angered by the fact that Barrera’s body was left lying at the scene of the shooting, covered with a cartoon box, for over two and a half hours. The body was then taken to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, where it was again left in the police vehicle for an extended period. She said that that should never have happened.

Flowers said that she tries to promote peace and safety in her area, and encourages the children in her area to join the Police Cadets, through which they can learn discipline, so that they can grow up to be responsible adults.

ASP Alejandro Cowo said that so far, no one has been charged for Barrera’s murder.