by Charles Gladden
BELIZE CITY, Wed. Mar. 5, 2025
Blood splattered on the streets of Belize City after a handicapped man with a criminal past was gunned down on Wednesday, March 5.
According to police reports, sometime around 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday the sound of a single gunshot was heard, and thereafter a pair of men were seen running away from a residence on Castle Street.
Following the shooting, 40-year-old Gion Bernard (Gomez), also known as “Gizmo”, an unemployed paraplegic of the above address, was seen in the center of the street on his side near his wheelchair with his hand holding on to it as he bled profusely from a gunshot wound to his head.
He was transported to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Police combed the surrounding area, but no expended shell casings were found.
Bernard had been a familiar figure to police, as he had been charged in the past numerous times for a number of offenses, but decided to turn his life around after a shooting incident caused him to lose his mobility about 6 years ago. Following that incident, he had been confined to a wheelchair.
He was the father of three adult children.
The motive for the murder is uncertain, and no one has yet been detained.