Nearly two months after a late-night shooting left a 26-year-old man wounded in Belize City, law enforcement officials have formally filed attempted murder charges against an 18-year-old local resident tied to the incident.
The accused, identified as James Saldano, a resident of Belize City, faces three total criminal counts in connection with the attack: attempted murder, use of deadly means of harm, and grievous harm. The charges were announced by Belizean police on April 21, 2026.
The violent incident that sparked the charges unfolded on the evening of Thursday, March 5. Just after 11:30 p.m. that night, first responders from the Belize Police Department were dispatched to Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, where the victim, 26-year-old Tyrel Andrewin, was already receiving treatment for multiple gunshot wounds.
In a formal statement to investigators following the attack, Andrewin detailed the circumstances of the shooting. He told officers he was sitting inside a parked Hyundai sedan on Plues Street when another vehicle, part of a multi-car caravan, pulled up alongside his car. According to Andrewin’s account, a passenger from that approaching vehicle drew a firearm and fired multiple shots directly toward him, inflicting the injuries that led to his hospital visit.
As of the announcement of the charges, police have not released additional details about a possible motive for the attack, nor have they indicated whether other suspects are being sought in connection with the shooting. The case remains an active investigation as legal proceedings against Saldano move forward.