In less than a week, two men in Orange Walk were killed in two separate shooting incidents.
On Wednesday, July 13, Orson Cardona, 23, was gunned down at the corner of Arthur and South Mejiba Streets.
And then only two days later, on Friday, July 15, a Chinese businessman, Zhou Ang “Tony” Tan, 41, a naturalized Belizean of Palmar Road, which leads from the village of Palmar to Orange Walk Town, was murdered by thieves.
Our sources told us that Tan was shot inside his shop, Tony’s Store, which is about a quarter mile from the village, by two masked gunmen who came into the store and fired at him while he was serving a customer.
After shooting Tan, the men stole money and phone cards.
According to eyewitness accounts, the incident occurred between the hours of 8:30 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. The eyewitness said that two masked men, both of fair complexion, one tall and the other chubby, ran into the store from across Castillo Estate, a farm located right in front of Tony’s Store.
Once in the store, the eyewitnesses said, the assailants asked no questions, nor did they make any demands. They simply fired the single shot that hit Tan in the middle of the chest.
At the time of the shooting, a 17-year-old female shop attendant was in the shop. We were told that the she hid in another section of the building, and then ran to tell Tan’s wife what had happened.
Also at the time of the incident, we were told, a customer was buying a snack. We managed to speak with the customer this afternoon.
She gave us an account of the frightening incident which transpired in just a few minutes.
“I was at home, when I had a craving for a snack. I thought about it; if whether I should go or not. Finally, after thinking about it, I decided to go. I went in my car, and when I reached, I parked my car in front of the store and I remember I gave him the money, and I took the snack and right about when he was going to give me my change, two men came inside the shop from across the farm, and then they shot him,” said the customer.
The customer then told us that for a few seconds, she felt that her life would also be taken:
“They looked at me and I tried not to stare them in the eye. I was so scared and I just prayed. I don’t know how they did not shoot me or the girl [shop attendant] that was inside.”
According to the customer, she slowly made a couple steps backward and then when she felt that it was OK to move, she ran toward her car and sped off.
“I really don’t know what happened after that. I left and I thank God they did not shoot me,” she recounted.
“When they shot him, he fell on top of the chair and he grabbed his chest with his hands,” said the customer.
Reports are that when the customer left the thieves pushed the bleeding Tan off the chair onto the floor.
They then went to the cash register and took all the money that was inside the drawer, along with phone cards.
The echo of the ear-splitting “bang” reverberated for what seemed like a few seconds, and it was that sound that alerted residents in the area that something deadly had occurred.
Frightened, residents hesitated to come out, but only minutes later, the shooting continued when police, who were in the area responding to another report, met the gunmen, who were just about to exit the store.
An exchange of gunfire took place between the assailants and the police, but no one was injured. The gunmen managed to escape, however. Another eyewitness told us that the gunmen ran into a back street toward the riverside, and that police followed.
In a release issued on Saturday, police said that the men did escape, but that a 16-gauge shotgun was retrieved from the scene, apparently dropped by one of the gunmen.
Later, alarmed residents came out and assisted the police by searching the entire area leading right up to the riverside, but the men were nowhere to be found.
Back at the store, Tan was taking his final breaths, and by the time he reached the Northern Regional Hospital, he had already died.
The news of another murder in less than a week was the talk of the town, a town that is known to be warm and friendly.
At press time, a minor and an adult have been detained pending investigation.
Tan, or “Tony,” was the father of three girls. The youngest is three.
A friend of Tan’s said, “Mein, he did not deserve this. You know some businesses, if you don’t have that shilling, they won’t sell you it, but not Tony.
“Everyone here knows he was the type of guy to help people and he befriended anyone and everyone. He just knew how to treat people. It is so sad that this happened.”
At 1:00 this afternoon, a post-mortem was conducted on Tan’s body, but the results have not yet been released.