by Charles Gladden
CAMALOTE, Cayo District, Mon. June 16, 2025
A man from Camalote Village, Cayo District, was gunned down on Friday night, June 13, after returning home from a local grocery store.
Sometime after 8:00 p.m. that Friday, the victim, 21-year-old Travis Swift, left his mother’s home in the village to purchase a few items at the nearby store. Shortly after returning, he was ambushed by an unknown gunman who pulled out a firearm and blasted multiple gunshots in Swift’s direction, killing him at the scene.
Assistant Superintendent of Police, Stacy Smith told reporters that Swift, who has no known criminal past or affiliations, was the intended target. The deceased’s mother echoed a similar point: that her son was not a person who was known to cause trouble.
“Words kyahn explain. Travis da mi right hand eena mi house. This hurt mi soh bad because dehn tek weh wahn innocent life; nuh wahn day somebody cohn tell mi Travis eena trouble or ih do dis. Soh, I nuh kno why dehn target Travis. Why dehn kill hihn. I nuh kno wat da di reason why, and ah waahn kno why Travis outta all person,” lamented the victim’s mother, Rosita Orellana.
“… He da somebody when nuh look fu problem. If he see trouble somewhere, he wahn stop go dah da spot and nuh go back deh. He nuh go noweh, not even if we got a birthday pawty, not even that,” she added.
Orellana noted that this is the second son she has lost to gun violence, and in regard to the death of her other son who was killed, no justice was served.
“I lost a son 7 years ago, and no justice as ah today. We still nuh hya nothing bout it, and 7 years later dehn tek another life from me. I nuh know why dehn do it. Who or what da di reason? I just ask di police fu do dehn job and get justice fu Travis, because he nuh deserve it,” she said.
Two persons from the village are being sought by the Police Department in connection with this murder, according to ASP Smith.