by Charles Gladden
LIBERTAD, Corozal, Mon. June 5, 2023
A Libertad man was slain at his home in the presence of his common-law-wife and toddler son on Saturday, June 3. The deceased was identified as Kurtis Usher, 36, a laborer of Libertad Village, Corozal District.
According to initial police reports, at around 9:00 p.m. that night, Usher, his common-law wife, and his three-year-old son arrived at home after an outing, and Usher and his son were on the veranda of their home when the sound of gunshots was heard from a bushy area.
Usher then ran behind the house to take cover, but he was wounded during his attempt to flee and died on the spot. His three-year-old son was also hit by one of the bullets but only suffered a graze to the left side of his head. The child was transported to the Corozal Community Hospital, where he was listed in a stable condition and was released. Usher, on the other hand, was pronounced dead on arrival.
Reports are indicating that the expended shell that wounded Usher was from a 7.62mm bullet, which is used in assault rifles; however, when local reporters asked ACP Hilberto Romero, OC of the Police Department’s Eastern Division, he couldn’t confirm those reports.
Another set of expended shells was found at the scene of the shooting, but ACP Romero didn’t indicate whether Usher had returned fire at his assailant with his firearm or if those shots had been fired by another person.
“Confused” and “lost” were the words used by Usher’s common-law-wife, Jasmine Williams, to describe her life moving forward after the loss of her child’s father.
Williams told reporters that as she was about to exit the vehicle with one of her feet out, the sound of gunshots was heard, and in fear for her life, she secured herself inside the car.
She then noticed that her little boy was out there and went to sweep him up and dashed to their next-door neighbor, and she then saw Usher’s motionless body on the ground.
Usher and Williams had been in a relationship for over 5 years, and she said that he was a family man and that he almost always seemed to be in a happy mood.
ACP Romero told local reporters that the incident may have been drug-related.