Former Junior College Honour Student Slain

A man was shot and killed in the Lake Independence area of Belize City on Monday night. The incident happened in front of an apartment complex shortly before eight p.m. on Flamboyant Street near its intersection with Mahogany Street. The victim is Michael Usher, a resident of the Majestic Alley area. Police are investigating the motive behind the killing, but notably, the Belize Police Department instituted a State of Emergency in March to reduce the level of gang-related violence in Belize City. And from all indications, this latest murder was the result of gang rivalry that spans two neighborhoods which are geographically distant. News Five’s Marion Ali has the story.

 

Marion Ali, Reporting

This was how residents of Flamboyant Street found thirty-three-year-old Michael Usher after he was shot sometime before eight on Monday night. The Pinks Alley resident was reportedly heading towards Mahogany Street on foot when he came under gunfire. A young man approached him from behind and shot Usher as he reached in front of this apartment complex.

 

Residents would not speak to us on record but indicated that they were inside their homes when they heard as many as six shots ring out. When the shooting subsided, they ventured outside and saw Usher, fatally wounded, lying on the concrete. The police, in a press release, informed that upon their arrival at the scene, Usher appeared motionless and that he was pronounced dead on arrival at the K.H.M.H.

 

This morning when we visited the location, bloodstains were still visible where Usher fell and took his final breath. Usher attended Wesley Junior College from 2007 to 2010, was the president of the student council government at the high school and was also reportedly an honour student. But what he did upon his graduation is anyone’s guess. In April 2022, he was the victim of a shooting along with two others, while on Handyside Street. At that time, there were two assailants on a motorcycle who targeted the trio. Police have not indicated whether they have detained anyone for this latest homicide. Marion Ali for News Five.