Another Belize City man is hanging on to life this afternoon after he was the target of a shooting this morning. 26 year old Mark Gardner was reportedly riding a bicycle on Water Lane near the junction with West Canal when someone, also on another bike, rode up to him and shot him once to the back of the head. Lindon Gill, who works for Marva’s Restaurant which is right at the junction, told reporters that he was cleaning up the back of the restaurant yard when he heard the gunshot around 9:40 this morning.
Lindon Gill
“I was taking my time walking because you know I had a lot papers and things, breeze blowing and I was going back to empty out the garbage that I have picked up. I hear one shot, hard one. I didn’t know where that came from. When I came to the front I saw a man lying on the ground. Someone said get him to the hospital quick. Two other men try to do him something but this man really needed help. This man couldn’t do anything for him self. We heard that the shooter stood over the guy.”
Marion Ali: Love FM
“Did you see that?”
Lindon Gill:
“No I was in the back yard cleaning up behind the restaurant.”
We met Gardner’s father, Robert Griffith Gardner at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital this morning. He told us that he left Gardner in bed at their Racecourse Street home and went to his security job at Augusto Quan Store.
Robert Griffith Gardner:
“I left him in his bed this morning. In bed I left him this morning when I went to work. That’s all I could tell you.”
Marion Ali: Love FM
“Has he been in trouble with anyone recently?”
Robert Griffith Gardner:
“Well he shot a boy. About four of them were beating him up. This thing came from way back.”
Marion Ali: Love FM
“That was the incident at MCC right?”
Robert Griffith Gardner:
“Yeah from that incident, the boy’s name is Batty. When the ambulance pass I said they shot somebody. But I didn’t know who because I was in the store. Meanwhile I said they shot somebody, someone came there and said it’s the one that shot Batty. Then I asked; then they told me Batty is the boy that he shot. I said oh lord that’s my son. So I told my boss that I’m going to the hospital. This is the forth time they shot him.”
Gardner expresses disgust at the system.
Robert Griffith Gardner:
“I have nothing to say to these people because if you say, they will just target you. They will not target me because the Police won’t give you a gun for you to carry around to protect your self. If you don’t have gun to protect your self, how will you protect your self? Anybody could come and shoot you.”
Doctors at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital have conducted a CAT scan examination to determine the severity of the injury. No details of what kind of medical treatment that will follow is available at this time. Meanwhile, Love News understands that Police are looking for one suspect, whose name has not yet been released.
