Photo: Jahfeth Stamp, deceased
by Charles Gladden
BELIZE CITY, Mon. July 3, 2023
A shootout on Rivero Street several hours before noon on Sunday, July 2, resulted in the death of a minor, 16, and at this time police investigators are trying to determine if the killer is a murderer, or if he was acting in self-defense.
According to surveillance camera footage that captured the entire incident, at around 10:00 a.m., the deceased, Jahfeth Stamp, was equipped with a firearm when he strolled into a yard which is situated in the vicinity of a home that was destroyed by a fire several weeks ago.
The video then illustrates Stamp chasing an individual and firing gunshots at him. Seeing the commotion happening outside, another man exited from his yard with a firearm and began blasting shots at Stamp, hitting him.
Stamp then fled the scene toward Boots Crescent where he collapsed onto the pavement from gunshot injuries he received, and succumbed at the scene.
At that same time, a second gunman approached Stamp’s body and retrieved his weapon and ran into a nearby yard on Fabers Road, where he shot Wayne Matura, 43, injuring him in the leg. The assailant also fired shots at Aaron Matura, 26, but did not hit his target.
“This is another fatal shooting. We had one just a few months ago in the same general, so the area is becoming of concern to us,” said Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams.
When speaking with local reporters, COMPOL Williams said that the teen had intentions to commit murder when he was caught, and highlighted that the youths have become a problem.
“While it is sad because, at the end of the day, no one should be killed, no one deserves to die at the hands of another … we do have a generation of some vicious youths, and these youths are the problem for us now. It is difficult, even for the older heads, to be able to control them because they want to do their own thing, and when they do get ahold of a firearm, they make it worse,” said COMPOL Williams.
He expressed that the entire incident could be ruled as a self-defense act.
“It could be considered self-defense, if those persons would come forward and give their account to the police; but we understand the world we live in, they may not want to do that. We’re waiting to see what’s going to happen; if they don’t give an account of what transpired, then we’ll proceed with murder charges,” COMPOL Williams said.
While there is no concrete motive as to why Stamp acted violently, speculations are that the incident may be gang-related. Wayne Matura, who was shot in the incident, is not known to be gang affiliated.