Belize City is reeling from two back-to-back fatal shootings that occurred within a two-hour window on the evening of May 8, 2026, leaving a construction worker and a bartender dead and putting fresh pressure on local law enforcement to curb violent crime in the urban center.
The second and most recent attack claimed the life of 29-year-old Jamal Samuels, a local construction worker. According to initial reports from the Belize Police Department, Samuels was relaxing in an outdoor gathering with a group of other men at the address 24 Cet Site when the violence unfolded. A dark-colored vehicle pulled up abruptly in front of the residential yard, and three masked individuals clad entirely in dark clothing exited the car, opening fire on the group before making a quick getaway in the same vehicle.
Samuels was hit multiple times by gunfire in the attack. Bystanders rushed the injured man to the country’s main public healthcare facility, Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH), but medical teams were unable to save him. He was officially pronounced dead at the scene at 8:30 p.m. that same night. Following the shooting, Scenes of Crime Technician Medina attended to the Cet Site location, collecting critical forensic evidence including spent bullet casings and DNA samples from blood found at the scene to help investigators identify the perpetrators.
This killing came less than two hours after another fatal shooting in a different part of the Belize District. Salma Raquel Orellana Funez, a bartender and mother of three, was gunned down at Da Buzz Lounge, an establishment located along the Phillip Goldson Highway. To date, law enforcement has not found any concrete evidence linking the two separate attacks, but on-the-ground sources in the community tell local media that an ongoing internal feud between factions in the Cet Site neighborhood may be the underlying motive for Samuels’ killing.
As of Friday morning, no suspects have been taken into custody in connection with either shooting. The Belize Police Department has confirmed that it will share a full update on the ongoing investigations with local media outlets later in the day, as community leaders call for renewed action to address rising violent crime in the capital city.