BELIZE CITY, Mon. Jan. 3, 2021– A man was gunned down and his female acquaintance injured during an armed attack on Thursday, December, 31, in Belize City.

Crime Investigation Branch personnel from Precinct 1 were deployed to Glenn Street at 7:00 p.m., where they found Shane Flowers, 25, a Belizean of Taylor’s Alley, Belize City, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to the body.

A few minutes prior to the shooting, Flowers had been walking on West Street with Maneera Wilson, 56, a resident of West Street, when they were approached by an unknown gunman who fired shots at them, fatally wounding Flowers and causing non-life-threatening injuries to Wilson.

After being wounded, Flowers ran towards Glenn Street, where he collapsed. His body was transported to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH), where he was pronounced dead at 8:55 p.m.  Wilson was hospitalized, and was reported to be in a stable condition.

Senior Superintendent of Police Hilberto Romero, Deputy Head of the National Crime Investigation Branch, says that the attack was precipitated by a feud between warring gangs from Taylor’s Alley and George Street.  “We have placed several [police] patrols in that area to prevent any possible retaliation…Some people were detained, questioned and released”, Romero said.

On Saturday, January 2, 2021, police formally arrested and charged a 17-year-old minor, in the presence of his mother, with murder in connection with the fatal shooting incident.