BELIZE CITY, Tues. Apr. 19, 2022– Two men were shot shortly after 7:00 p.m. on Monday, April 18, while they were riding on Kraal Road in Belize City. One of the gunshot victims, Raheem Williams, 21, received a non-life-threatening injury to the ankle, while his companion, 24-year-old Shaquille Patnett, who had reportedly been heading to a shop after leaving his family’s home at the time of the shooting, passed away.
Initial police reports are indicating that Patnett and Raheem Williams were riding their bicycles on Rivero Street near Kraal Road heading towards the junction of Kraal Road and Haynes Street when the duo was ambushed by a lone gunman who exited a yard on Kraal Road and fired a barrage of bullets at them, which severely wounded Patnett in the body.
The shots were reportedly heard by family members of Patnett, with whom he had been socializing and drinking shortly before he decided to go to the corner shop in the neighborhood.
“So I gave the man a ride, but the man, but he told me to take a little spin, but I think it was the shop he was going to, but when he left I went to my mom’s house, and when I went to my mom’s house, I took off my shirt right, and as I was going to sit down here, I heard bang bang bang bang bang,” related one of Patnett’s brothers to 7News.
Another of Patnett’s brothers had rushed to the scene and ended up holding his little brother in his arms as he took his last breath while being transported to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital.
“I was the only one who was strong out of the crowd, so I was the one who took him to the hospital. When I came on the scene, the young man, the little neighbors had him held in their hands… Going on the way now, to the roundabout to Matron Roberts, it was right there around the curb that the man passed away in my arms,” he said.
In regards to the possible motive for the shooting, ASP Fitzroy Yearwood, Communications Director of the Belize Police Department, noted at a police press briefing, “We know that he resides on Rivero Street; we know that area they have an ongoing problem with other members of other neighboring gangs, so we wouldn’t want to speculate why he was targeted, but we’re investigating angles when a murder happened in a zone like this.”
According to Patnett’s family, he was a jovial man who kept to himself and enjoyed sports and music. No one has yet been detained for the recent homicide. Police’s investigation of the incident continues.