In 2022, Trayson Gibson was shot while living in the Mahogany Heights community. He was only fifteen when the bullet left him paralyzed from the waist down. He then moved in with his grandmother on Rivero Street in Belize City, where she took care of him. Despite his circumstances, Trayson never gave up hope that he would walk again and find a good job. On Sunday night, he ventured out into the neighborhood on his motorized wheelchair, accompanied by several young men, including Albert Welch. Suddenly, two men on a motorcycle appeared and opened fire. Multiple shots were fired, fatally injuring Gibson and wounding Welch. We begin our newscast tonight with the deadly violence that marked the end of the weekend. Here’s News Five’s Isani Cayetano with the story.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
A volley of gunshots from an unnamed attacker, wreaked havoc on Rivero Street on Sunday night, sending a group of young men scrambling for cover. Unfortunately, eighteen-year-old Trayson Gibson, confined to a wheelchair after being shot back in 2022, could not escape the hail of bullets.
Voice of: Grandmother of Deceased
“The intended target wasn’t him, definitely, because ih coulda get it before because ih mi deh out ya fi hours di wait fi dehn cohn fi goh down deh and talk and nothing neva happen. Soh I know he wasn’t the intended target, but as ih gaan deh gaan talk I noh know if da ten minutes after dehn seh, I noh know, I wasn’t down there. But when we hear di bam bam, I jump out, me and my sister-in-law, and we seh da gunshot. When I run out ya, I hear dehn di holla my grandson name. Soh I noh gaan, I freeze right by deh and I stay deh and everybody else gaan cause I neva wahn go.”
When the gunfire finally stopped, neighbors sprang into action, rushing the gravely injured Trayson Gibson to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. Despite being able to breathe and talk, Gibson tragically succumbed to his injuries from the brutal attack. The neighborhood is now mourning the heartbreaking loss of the teenager, as it seems gang activity is flaring up once again in that part of Belize City.
Voice of: Rivero St. Resident
“I just past di man and I gaan home fi a cup ah coffee and sih down eena mi house. Ih mi feel like dynamite, but when I hear di lee break eena it and ih come on again, I seh no man, that da noh dynamite, that da gunshot. But I memba I leff my son out ya soh I run outside and when I reach outside, I see di commotion and I sih man di shuffle, man pan ground when I conscious di young bwai eena di wheelchair, my neighbor weh I just leff out ya. I seh mein and I jump eena mi vehicle, bring di vehicle up and I try… di man di talk all the way to the hospital, family, when I seh talk, di man di tell we ih noh sih nothing.”
It all happened in a flash. The shooter appeared out of nowhere, fired multiple shots at the unsuspecting group, and then vanished into the night.
ACP Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander, Eastern Division
“Police responded to a shooting in Belize City, on Rivero Street. Upon their arrival, they learned that two persons had been shot, Trayson Gibson and Andrew Welch. Police visited the K.H.M.H. where information is that Trayson Gibson succumbed to his injuries. Information was received that they were both on Rivero Street when a motorcycle pulled up with two persons. One man fired several shots towards them causing the fatal injuries to Trayson Gibson and a gunshot to the foot of Andrew Welch. Welch was treated and released. We have several persons in custody pending investigation.”
According to the first responder, who also lives on Rivero Street, the neighborhood had enjoyed a period of calm for quite some time. Unfortunately, it seems they may have celebrated that peace a bit too soon.
Voice of: Rivero St. Resident
“Wi mi di boast that this da one ah di best neighborhood pan di south side, you know. Well I could tell yoh, I noh sih my neighbors go bout and problem nobody. Da always people come round ya soh and try pick some kinda bone, you know, and we try explain to the police dehn… but instead ah dehn woulda goh do weh dehn suppose to do weh dehn supposed to do, dehn start and target we eena di neighborhood check. Nobody through ya pree violence or go ahn… all ah dehn lee young bwai through ya dehn positive, bredda.”
Trayson’s grandmother is struggling to understand what he could have possibly done to deserve such violent attacks, both times.
Voice of: Grandmother of Deceased
“I noh really know weh he do outright fi cause all ah it, from the first one to this one ya. Well I know dis one ya da noh really he, but the first one I noh know weh really he do because I live down here and he live da Mahogany Heights.”
Isani Cayetano for News Five.
