Meanwhile, a man from Punta Gorda is still in the hospital after being shot in the neck. Thirty-five-year-old Derrick Hines was shot around nine o’clock on Saturday night on Prince Street in Punta Gorda. Hines had to be transferred from Punta Gorda to the Western Regional Hospital for treatment. A.C.P. Romero reports that Hines is now in stable condition and that another man has been charged in connection with the shooting.
“On Saturday nine 30th of April, 2025, PG Police responded to a shooting on Prince Street at Punta Gorda Town. Upon arrival, they saw Derrick Hines with gunshot injuries. He was taken for treatment where he is in a stable condition. Investigations revealed that he was at his yard when a male person came down and fired several shots towards the direction. Investigation was carried out and since then Felix Gonzalez has been arrested and charged for the crimes of attempted murder and use of deadly means of harm.”
Britney Gordon
“Was Derrick by himself?”
A.C.P. Hilberto Romero
“Yes, he was by himself.”
Reporter
“Is there any idea why this happened?”
A.C.P. Hilberto Romero
“This is an ongoing railroad, two groups in Punta Gorda.”
Reporter
“And Hines is known to be affiliated with one of them?”
Belmopan police are investigating a daring drive-by shooting that occurred on Saturday. Surveillance footage shows a white SUV pulling up behind a Mazda Tribute parked in front of T and J store in the Cohune Walk area. Within seconds, a gunman emerged from the SUV’s backseat and fired multiple shots at the Mazda, forcing the occupants to dive for cover. The incident is believed to be related to an ongoing family feud. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured, but one passenger, Jamal Hyde, was shot in the leg. A.C.P. Hilberto Romero provided more details on the incident.
“On Saturday, the fifth day of April 2025, around twelve fifteen p.m., Belmopan police responded to a shooting in Belmopan. Upon their arrival, they learned. But one person received injuries and had been taken to the hospital for treatment. He was identified as Jamal Hyde, investigation Villa Jamal Hyde was in a Mazda vehicle when an occupant from a suburban vehicle fired several shots towards his vehicle causing the injury to him. There were two other persons in the Mazda but they were not injured. Jamal Hyde has since been treated and released from the hospital. The vehicle involved in the shooting has been recovered, and several persons are in custody pending investigation.”
Reporter
“Are the suspects related to the victim?”
Hilberto Romero
“I’m aware that they are known to each other. That’s all I know.”
Reporter
“What triggered the shooting? Is there a motive?”
Hilberto Romero
“Internal feud with these persons involving Jamal Hyde.”
Reporter
“Is it a feud fueled by revenge?”
Hilberto Romero
“Again, that is all the information we have, they have some feud amongst themselves and that is what led to the shooting.”
Reporter
“Do police believe that Jamal Hyde and his passengers were trailed by the persons in the vehicle?”
Hilberto Romero
“At some point the Suburban came upon the Mazda, because the Mazda had been to several places upon prior to the shooting.”
Reporter
Was it firearm used or did we use Inside recovered?”
Hilberto Romero
“There was a firearm recovered. And again, the investigation is being carried out to determine if it can be linked to the shooting.”
Earlier today, Mayor Pablo Cawich addressed the shocking daylight shooting in Belmopan. He expressed deep concern over the incident, noting how it has left residents feeling alarmed and uneasy. Mayor Cawich reassured everyone that the city council is working hand-in-hand with the Belize Police Department to ensure the Garden City remains safe and secure.
Pablo Cawich
Pablo Cawich, Mayor, Belmopan
“Yes it was very concerning to see that action take place in our city. Belmopan is known for being peaceful city, so twelve or thirteen shots being fired in front of a grocery store in broad daylight is very alarming. We tend to regularly meet with the police department. The department and the council participate in a by monthly prayer session with some pastors and during that session the police usually gives us a briefing of what has happened recently, concerns in the neighborhood and city. So, we will be updated on that but I have not been briefed as yet.”
Several people believed to be gang members from the Iguana Street and Neal Penn Road neighborhoods are now in police custody. This follows a shooting on Iguana Street on Saturday that left a man, a woman, and a child hospitalized. On Sunday afternoon in Belize City, three people, including a twelve-year-old boy, were shot during an attack. Marilyn Richard, fifty-six, Edgar Choc, thirty-six, and the young boy were socializing in front of a home on Iguana Street Extension when two men on a motorcycle showed up. One of the men got off, pulled out a gun, and fired multiple shots, injuring Richard, Choc, and the minor. Luckily, a fourth person managed to escape unharmed. The attackers then fled down Elston Kerr Street. This incident happened close to where twenty-year-old Coby Ledlon was fatally shot last week on Iguana Street. Today, A.C.P. Hilberto Romero suggested the shooting might have been in retaliation for Ledlon’s murder.
“On Sunday, the 6th of April. 2025, around 12:50 p.m., police responded to a shooting on Iguana Street in Belize City. Upon their arrival, they learned that three persons had been shot and taken to the K.H.M.H. for treatment. Edgar, Choc and Marilee Richards received gunshot injuries as well as a twelve-year-old minor. They are presently at the K.H.M.H. receiving treatment, and they are all in stable condition. Investigation reveal that they were sitting in a yard on Iguana Street when a motorcycle came to the area, a person came off the motorcycle and fired several shots towards their direction. We have several persons in custody at this time. Information revealed that a person that was at the yard was the intended target, but he was not shot.”
Reporter
“Is it in any way related to the previous shooting on that street?”
A.C.P. Hilberto Romero
“We have some information that it may be related, so we’re doing follow-up work on it.”
Reporter
“Are police concerned about that area?”
A.C.P. Hilberto Romero
“Yes, it is of concern, so we will do several operations and bring in the persons from those areas to try to prevent any further retaliation.”
Marion Ali
“Mr. Romero how effective are these surveillance cameras in providing information that you need to fight these cases at the court and getting convictions?”
A.C.P. Hilberto Romero
“The cameras are important as we can trace the route the suspects took as well as sometimes we can rely on these images to identify who the suspects are.”
Two women were shot on Vernon Street around 6:30 PM on Tuesday evening. Police report that forty-year-old Stephanie James and fifty-five-year-old Maria Cruz were walking with a man they knew when another man suddenly pulled out a gun and started shooting at them. However, James told us she had just closed the snack shop she cleans and was waiting for her two sons, while Cruz was simply passing by when they were shot. News Five’s Marion Ali spoke with James and filed this report.
Voice of: Stephanie James
Voice of: Stephanie James, Shooting Victim
“When I see he pull out the gun, I could tell yoh, I hear at least about five or six shots first. Then after that, when I run, he continue open up more fire. He continue shoot.”
Marion Ali
“You realize you were hit…”
Voice of: Stephanie James
“From the first shot I get, I realized I was hit.”
Marion Ali, Reporting
At around 6:30 PM on Tuesday evening, two women were shot on Vernon Street. One of the victims, Stephanie James, shared her story with News Five.
Voice of: Stephanie James
“I deh right deh soh di talk to two ah my friend deh, just done lock up the shop and when I look, wa gunman just open fire. Eena the midst ah me di try fi run da then I get hit. But my thing is why Berger Field? Dehn di try fi she Ghost Town deh deh but at the end of the day, dehn can’t she Ghost Town di give no trouble. And ComPol know this, Ghost Town nuh di give no trouble. Da one set ah people di give trouble.”
James was hit by three bullets in her right arm, but fortunately, none of the wounds were serious. She was treated and released from KHMH. The incident has left her and her family feeling uneasy, and now she can’t let her sons play ball on the field.
Voice of: Stephanie James
“There is our go-to spot my son they play football. A lotta people always deh pon the field da night, and yes we do have police presence in the area, but it’s not like – dehn know weh the trouble di come from. They nuh target dehn people and they not stop and mek sure dehn people nuh di exit their community. Someone could have lost their life the way that young man came and opened fire. Like he literally didn’t care. He didn’t care who got hit. He didn’t care if it was – kids, who are always out there most of the time, he didn’t care if it was a female like me, he didn’t care if it was someone elderly like the lady. He didn’t care.”
Despite her concerns for her children’s safety, James says the incident won’t dampen her spirits.
Voice of: Stephanie James
“ To be honest, Marion, they can stop my good heart, but I just wa be more alert. I just nuh wa have my kids pon the field. Ih just so sad because I just di deprive dehn ah deh fun, but we just have to be more careful out deh.”
Cruz was shot in the ankle and is still in the hospital. James hopes this incident will lead to increased police presence in the area. Marion Ali for News Five.
This morning, police shot a man named Edward Saldano inside the Michael Finnegan Market. Officers reportedly found a firearm in the market, and when they tried to approach Saldano, he ran. They shot him in the leg to stop him and took him to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital for treatment. Saldano is no stranger to trouble; he was wanted for escaping police custody back in November. Today, his run-in with the law ended with a gunshot wound. We spoke with his mother, Joyce Martinez, outside the hospital. She believes the police didn’t need to shoot her son.
Edward Saldano
Edward Saldano, Shooting Victim
“Deh handcuff me and shot up, deh bally done handcuff me and shot me.”
Joyce Martinez
Joyce Martinez, Mother of Shooting Victim
“I really nuh know what happen, all I know the other day a shooting happened and they say he did the shooting. That is what I hear. I asked him if he wanted to go in. He said, what will I go in for when every minute as I go in they hold me. I understand that, because every time I carry my son they hold him, or sometimes I pay a lawyer to carry him in. But when you reach there it is a different story. My daughter called me and said they are walking around market to f**king find a gun. How will you know if that is his gun?”
Paul Lopez
“So he was in the vicinity?”
Joyce Martinez
“Look like he was at some stall and he see them and run apparently and they shot him. Then they look around to see if he had anything on him and they find a gun. So if you find a gun now dah fuh you? Yo nuh get no justice out yah, nun at all. If you nuh got money, nothing work. I tired of the police and deh nonsense and some of them call themselves GI3. Deh dah nuh GI3 deh dah BI f**king 3, deh act like woman.”
Paul Lopez
“Is it your view that in their attempt to detain your son they should not have shot him.”
Joyce Martinez
“Of course, detain him but why you have to shot him?”
Police are waiting for Corozal resident Moises Verde to recover so they can charge him with aggravated assault. Verde is currently healing from a gunshot wound he got during a shootout with Sarteneja police last Thursday. Reports say officers were chasing Verde for an aggravated assault charge when he pulled out a point thirty-eight pistol and fired several shots at them. The police fired back, hitting him in the leg, and he was taken to the Northern Regional Hospital for treatment. Commissioner of Police Chester Williams provided an update on the incident.
Britney Gordon
“Update on Moises Verde, the man that was accused of shooting the police officer and he got allegedly shot back by a police officer?”
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“At this time, that’s a matter in Sarteneja. I don’t have any further details. I know that the man Verde, I think he has been released or is still in the hospital. But as soon as he is able to be arraigned, he will be charged by the police for aggravated assault.”
