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Gunman fires at 5 young friends — 1 dead

GeneralGunman fires at 5 young friends — 1 dead

BELIZE CITY, Mon. Sept. 20, 2021– On Sunday, September 19, just after 6:00 in the evening, a group of five young men — including a BDF soldier, a disc jockey and a barber — were returning to the city after taking a swim at a river in Rockville when they found themselves cornered by a number of vehicles on both sides of them at the roundabout in Chetumal Street and were subjected to a drive-by attack — the kind of ambush that is usually targeted at high-level gangsters. A gunman reportedly exited a black SUV that had seemingly been trailing their car and fired at the vehicle while the group of men were sandwiched between rows of cars on either side of them. Two of the young men in the car were injured as a result of the shooting— Rudolph “DJ Junyah” Gladden, 32, a career disc jockey, and Michael Henry, 17, a promising upcoming football and basketball athlete who worked at a call center. Henry, who is reportedly the father of a baby girl, would later die as a result of the gunshot injuries he received. The firing of shots at the young men, none of whom are known to be gang affiliates, is suggesting to some in the community that individuals are now being targeted simply because they live in a certain area, even if they have no criminal background.

Henry, who was apparently suffering from multiple gunshot wounds in the body, was in a critical condition at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital until sometime after 6:00 the following morning, Monday, September 20, when he succumbed to his injuries. Gladden, on the other hand, was treated at the hospital and subsequently released.

One of the three other young men who were in the car, Tevin Montero, was taken aback by the type of attack that was carried out on a group of young men who, according to him, have not been involved in any type of gang activity. “We came from enjoying ourselves on a beautiful Sunday at the river. We were not expecting something like that to happen, especially to the people in the vehicle, because they are people that are working and we don’t believe in giving trouble and go and shooting after people and those things, so for something like that to happen to us, we were not expecting it, so we were really caught off guard,” he told local reporters.

He went on to say, “if people would look back at the things we did, we are not people posting up things about gangs and stuff. We sing karaoke, dancing, and stuff like that.” He then referred to the possibility that gang members might now be coordinating attacks on persons who reside in “enemy territory”, even if their victims are not gang affiliates. “I believe that it’s just gang affiliated, because of the area that we live in, we are being targeted like this and it’s not right for people to judge you because of the area that you live in,” he said.

According to the group of men who were targeted in the shooting, following the traumatic incident, after the men had left the hospital, the police arrived and proceeded to treat them as if they were the perpetrators of the crime. The young men were reportedly handcuffed and detained at the police station for a few hours.

“Almost 7 to 8 vehicles were out there through the cemetery and we’re getting handcuffed, pepper sprayed, the police even slapped someone, and like what we’re explaining to them, we are the victims. How can you be treating like this?” Montero told local reporters.

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