BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Jan. 20, 2022– A man was gunned down in Belize City, and police currently believe that the victim may have known his assailant. Septimus Ritchie, 35, a customer care agent, was working from home last night at around 7:25 on Electric Avenue in the St. Martin’s area of Belize City when a gunman drew close to the window of his home and fired a single gunshot that wounded Ritchie in his head—killing him instantly.
The Police Department’s Communications Director, ASP Fitzroy Yearwood, said that investigators believe that Ritchie was the intended target.
“This was a direct target, so the person that went to do this had to know that he was in that certain position at that time, and we believe he knew his assailant. I know that investigators have canvassed the area and they have picked up some very useful information, and hopefully we could make [a] detention or probably an arrest very soon with this latest murder,” said ASP Yearwood.
Police examined the area in which the shooting occurred, and found one expended shell.
Residents of the area may know that a surveillance camera is located not too far from where this latest murder occurred. ASP Yearwood indicated that they are reviewing footage captured by this camera.
“Whenever these crimes take place, we don’t only review the official camera that we have in the zone, but we even canvas the area to see if other neighbors might have surveillance. It takes a little while, because of course if we find anything we would want it to be retracted from the official technician that can testify in court, in the event we need to use it as evidence. Usually, if they have any findings they will indicate to me what their findings are. We do have people viewing the cameras,” he said.
Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, told local reporters that police believe that the shooting is connected to a domestic matter, and that police are pursuing two suspects in connection to the latest murder.
Ritchie’s body was transported to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital and will soon undergo a post-mortem examination. Ritchie is the third customer care agent to be murdered in Belize this month alone.