ComPol’s House Comes Under Gunfire While Away on Police Business

Someone assaulted the home of Commissioner of Police Chester Williams on Tuesday night in what appears to be a copycat crime.  Sometime after nine p.m., an individual rode up to the ComPol’s residence in Belmopan, stood on the roadside and opened fire on the concrete two-storey building, before riding off on a motorcycle.  Inside the residence at the time of the shooting was Williams’ twenty-two-year-old son.  Following a series of S.O.E. operations in Belize City yesterday, the commissioner boarded a flight to the United States and was en route to New York City when he received a disturbing text message from his son.  The top cop was informed that his home was being fired upon, just a few days after the police station in nearby Roaring Creek was sprayed with a shower of bullets.  Here’s News Five’s Isani Cayetano with our first story.

 

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“If they think that I am going to be perturbed or intimidated by their action then they have the wrong man. So they can come and shoot a million times, that will not distract me from doing what I need to do.  But what I can say to them is that they will be pursued no matter where they go.  They will be caught and they will be dealt with.”

 

 

 

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

Commissioner of Police Chester Williams was on the ground on Tuesday morning, where a state of emergency came into effect in the Lake Independence area, as well as other parts of Belize City.  During our interview with him, we learned that he was traveling to the United States later that day on official business as Belize’s chief law enforcement officer.  Little did he know that, like the incident which happened in Roaring Creek a few days earlier, his residence would also come under gunfire.

 

 

 

Chester Williams

“Well the person went by on motorcycle and he passed in front of the house and he stopped a distance away and fired the shots from there.  So again, it goes to show that he’s a coward.  I am sure that whoever, that this individual knew I was not at home because they might have heard on the news that I was leaving the country yesterday, following the operations for the SOE and so they took the opportunity, knowing that I was not at home, to have done this. Just about an hour before landing in New York, I got a call from my son who was at home, but the data that you purchase on the plane does not allow you for voice calls., you can only text.  So I could not have answered his call.  So I messaged him and said to him, “I am in flight. Kindly text.”

 

The message he received from his son, who was home alone at the time, required immediate action.

 

Chester Williams

“He text me quickly and said that shots were being fired at the house.  I right away forwarded the message to the Belmopan Police Station and asked them to have the police respond immediately and I directed my son not to come out, to stay inside the house secured until the police would arrive there.  I must say that the police got there very quickly and they dealt with the situation.  They examined the house and reviewed the surveillance camera system that I have at home and they were able to obtain some very useful information.”

 

 

 

Surveillance footage from the scene of the shooting led to the subsequent arrest of this individual, twenty-one-year-old Threvane Thomas, a resident of Camalote Village.  Not only was he found with a weapon, steps have also been taken to proceed with a ballistics analysis.

 

Chester Williams

“They were able to apprehend a suspect, along with the firearm which we believe to have been used in the incident.  The firearm is a forty-five caliber pistol that has been packaged and been sent to the National Forensic Science Services ballistics section for examination to be compared with the shells that were found at the scene.  So I must say that the police did act very swiftly in making sure that they were able to investigate and find who is responsible.”

 

ComPol Williams has taken grave offense to the assault on the Roaring Creek Police Station, describing the precinct as a location that is like. an officer’s residence.  Less than thirteen hours later, his home would come under attack.  Why?

 

Chester Williams

“His mother happened to be a cook at the training academy.  So, she and I have never had any encounter per se.  I don’t even know who she is.  But that’s as far as I know about him.  I know that he has been in trouble with the law before, charged with different offenses and we are looking at him very closely to see who are his close associates.  We have a person of interest that we are looking at likewise. It is something that I take very seriously and we will act decisively in making sure that the perpetrators of this and other incidents are brought to justice.”

 

 

 

The Commissioner of Police has taken measures to ensure the safety of his son while away until the weekend.

 

Chester Williams

“My son is okay.  He is like his father, very brave and very courageous young man, he was raised well and he remains at home.  Yes, I have put certain security measures in place to ensure his safety until I return back to Belize this coming weekend.”

 

Isani Cayetano for News Five.