The condition of another victim of Saturday morning’s home invasion on Mopan Street is “critical but stable,” while a third is in a “stable” condition

 

A victim of a vicious shooting that took place as part of an armed robbery of a tacos vendor on Saturday morning at about 4:50 a.m. on Mopan Street, in the area of Haulover Creek, has died from her injuries.

Alida Ascencio, 42, died at about 11:00 Tuesday morning at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH), after three days of fighting for her life.

She had been shot in the left breast and the abdomen, and suffered three broken ribs. Her liver and kidneys had been badly damaged, her intestine had ruptured and she was bleeding from the pancreas. Doctors had given her a 50-50 chance of survival after she went into a coma.

Ascencio, a Honduran, was one of four persons shot by one of two robbers who forced their way into the house that morning. The owner of the house, Carlos Mayorga, 52, a tacos vendor, and his three helpers – his daughter, Sijihan Avila, 21; Karima Avila, 19; and Ascencio, were in the house at the time.

Mayorga was shot in the back of the head and in the shoulder and died on the spot, and apart from shooting him and Ascencio, the gunman also shot Sijihan Avila in the left side of the chest and in the left side of the abdomen, and Karima Avila was shot in the left upper arm.

The four tacos vendors were preparing food and packing the tacos cart prior to hitting the streets. At the time, Ascencio was working with Mayorga, the house owner, and his daughter, Sijihan Avila, while Karima Avila was sleeping in Ascencio’s room.

When the two robbers entered the house, Ascencio tried to escape and ran into her room where Avila was sleeping, but the room had no lock on the door, and one of the thieves kicked down the door and pulled the two of them out of the bedroom and into the room where Mayorga and his daughter, Sijihan Avila, were being held.

On entry into the room, Ascencio and Karima were both beaten in their heads with the gun butt by the gunman.

After Mayorga could not find the key due to nervousness and used a machete to open a locker, which contained over $2,000, which he handed over to the thieves, he was shot by the thieves, who demanded more money, which he didn’t have.

The merciless gunman then shot Ascencio, Sijihan and Karima. They then stole their cellphones and other valuables and fled the house.

Karima Avilez, who had hidden her phone before she was dragged out of the room, locked the door after they left and called the police.

Mayorga was declared dead on the scene and the three women were rushed to the KHMH.

On Tuesday, a relative of the family reported that Karima Avila’s condition was not good, because the slug had traveled through her arm and is now lodged in her chest. Although her other vital organs are not damaged, the slug is causing her to have breathing difficulties, because her lungs are bleeding. She is now hooked up to a machine, which is carrying out the breathing for her.

Today, Thursday, information to Amandala is that Karima’s condition is considered “stable.”

For her part, Sijihan Avila is said to still be in a critical but stable condition. However, she is very sad that she cannot even attend her father’s funeral.

Mayorga was taken to his hometown in Honduras on Tuesday for burial. The body was accompanied by his family members and friends.

Ascencio’s body is presently at the morgue awaiting a post-mortem to certify the cause of her death, after which she also will be returned to Honduras by her family for her burial.

Ascencio was the mother of an 8-year-old girl who is in Guatemala, and she is survived by her sister, who resides here in Belize.

Police say that they have three persons detained, but none of them has so far been charged.