Photo: Brodam Santos, deceased
by Kristen Ku
BELIZE CITY, Wed. July 26, 2023
On Tuesday, July 25, two men were gunned down in public shootings in separate parts of the country.
The two victims — Steven Moss, a Belize City resident, and Brodam Santos, of Belmopan — were gunned down hours apart in their respective neighborhoods.
Just after 2:00 p.m., police responded to reports of a shooting that occurred on Caesar Ridge Road in Belize City. When they arrived at the scene, they found the body of 29-year-old Steven “Stevo” Moss and the bicycle he had been riding, in the middle of the road, just a few feet away from his home.
According to sources, Moss was on his way home from picking up food from a nearby fast-food shop when a Land Rover appeared and two individuals who had been seated inside it, exited the vehicle and opened fire on him. Residents of the area who were nearby claimed to have heard multiple shots being fired before the shooter sped off.
Moss, who was accused of being involved in the 2017 murder of Delbert Anderson, but avoided imprisonment after the case was thrown out due to lack of evidence, had been a target for some time. Additionally, there have been unconfirmed reports of his membership in a local gang.
On Tuesday, however, he may have fallen victim to an act of retaliation as he traversed the alleged territory of the South Side Gangsters.
On July 26, Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams told local reporters, “Moss was riding a bicycle when he was approached by a group of men in a Land Rover. Two individuals alighted from the vehicle and opened fire, causing his fatal injury.”
He further stated that the police have a suspect in custody and are actively seeking two other persons in connection with the murder. The Land Rover involved was a rental vehicle, and the person who rented it is also part of the ongoing investigation.
The incident is believed to be a gang-related hit, and the possibility of retaliation remains a concern, according to the Commissioner.
Several hours after Moss was shot, another shooting occurred in Belmopan at about 8:00 p.m.
Thirty-year-old Brodam Santos was reportedly socializing with some friends near his home on Lime Street in the pan of a pickup when a motorcycle, on which two men were traveling, passed by and one of the men fired one single shot at Santos.
Santos was wounded in the back and was rushed to the Western Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Sources close to Santos claim that he had no known involvement with any gangs, and he had a respectable occupation as a contractor.
Commissioner Williams told local media, “Investigations revealed that Santos was socializing with two other individuals in front of his home when the gunmen on a motorcycle targeted him with a shotgun.”
One of the persons with whom Brodam had been socializing at the time of the shooting is known to the police for alleged involvement in criminal activity in the Belmopan and Warrington areas. It is believed, according to Williams, that this individual may have been the intended target, not Brodam Santos.
The police are carrying out an investigation, but they have been facing challenges in obtaining information from some of the persons they’ve interviewed.