Anfernee Romero, 18, of Central American Boulevard, lost his life in a shooting incident, and his friend, Troy Hyde, 26, also of Belize City, who was shot in the back, is recovering at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH).

The men were at a locksmith’s shop on Central American Boulevard at about 5:00 Thursday evening when they were attacked by the gunmen.

Police say that Hyde and Romero were at the shop when two men riding on separate bicycles rode up to the shop and fired at them. Romero was shot in the right side of the head, while Hyde was shot in the back. The gunmen then rode away.

The injured men were rushed to the hospital, where they were admitted in a critical condition, but Romero died at about 4:30 Friday morning. Hyde, shot three times, continues to recover at the KHMH.

In an interview with Amandala, the owner of the workshop reported that he had just left the shop when he heard that the two men who were at the shop had been shot. He and Hyde were friends, he said, but Romero, who was a friend of Hyde, had just started going to the shop about four days before the shooting, and he was not well acquainted with him.

Hyde frequently came to the shop to help him, the owner said, but he was not an employee. He said that he is sorry for the death of Hyde’s friend, and extends condolences to the family.

He said that he is not intimidated because he is not in a conflict with anyone, nor had anyone threatened him.

Police recovered several expended shells from the area of the workshop and have launched an investigation into this shooting, but so far, no one has been arrested, or any suspect detained.

Reports are that Romero had worked hard to become gainfully employed. He graduated last year from the Youth Apprenticeship Program, after which he entered the computer literacy program with RESTORE Belize, and graduated from the program on Friday, March 28.