BELIZE CITY, Mon. Oct. 7, 2019– Jamal Elijio, 24, a laborer of Belize City, died of injuries he received in a drive-by shooting at about 8:30 Thursday night on Santa Barbara Street.

Elijio was with Marquin Drury, 27, a mechanic of Santa Barbara Street; and Justin Richards, 32. Drury was shot in the neck; Richards was shot in the shoulder; and Elijio was shot in the stomach. They were all rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, where they were admitted in a stable condition.

Things, however, took a turn for the worse for Elijio, and last night, he was declared dead in the hospital, while Richards has been treated and released, and Drury remains hospitalized.

Police said that the three friends were standing in front of a yard on Santa Barbara Street when a taxi car drove by, and a gunman shot them from a lowered window.

Justin Richards’ mother told Amandala that Justin Richards and Jamal Elijio are cousins. Elijio is her sister’s son. She emphasized that the two cousins were not involved in gangs, nor were they violent. Elijio’s brother died about 8 years ago and his mother lives in the United States.

Richard’s mother mentioned, however, that Elijio had been receiving threats.

 She said that he did not have steady employment, but was frequently  given small jobs to do. His aunt said that he had been doing a watchman’s job, watching a boat that was in the yard, when the shooting occurred.

He and Richards, and their friend Drury, were talking when they were shot.

Elijio’s aunt said that she was at home when she heard the gunshots. She got a feeling that something was wrong and went to Santa Barbara Street, and saw police, and a bicycle was on the ground.

Police then informed her of the shooting, and told her that Richards and Elijio were two of the men who had been shot.