As Mother’s Day 2026 approaches, families across Belize City are busy preparing bouquets, planning warm gatherings, and cherishing time with loved ones. But for one long-time CET Site resident, this holiday will bring nothing but unthinkable agony, marking a second devastating loss of a child to violent urban gun crime.
Helen Samuels, 60-something, will not be on the receiving end of hugs or gifts this Sunday. Instead, she is sitting with her grief, mourning the murder of her 29-year-old son Jamal Samuels, who was gunned down in a brazen public shooting in their neighborhood on the evening of May 6. For Samuels, who already lost her first infant son decades ago and a second adult son to gun violence years prior, this killing leaves her with just one surviving child — and a gaping hole that no amount of resilience can fill.
Samuels has spent her entire life building stability for her children out of hardship. For decades, she raised her four sons in a small, weathered wooden home in CET Site, where the family weathered hurricanes, heavy rains, and constant economic uncertainty. The creaky, worn structure was more than wood and nails to her; it was a testament to her sacrifice: she went without basic needs so her children could have enough, and turned the modest space into a stable home amid constant neighborhood instability. Years later, the Government of Belize provided Samuels with a new concrete starter home, but even the solid new walls cannot hold back the crippling grief she now carries.
The shooting unfolded on Thursday evening, when Jamal stepped out of his home to run a quick errand to a nearby shop. As he made the purchase, unidentified gunmen approached and opened fire multiple times, fatally wounding him before fleeing the scene. Jamal’s sister, Sherean Tracy, was at home nearby when she heard the gunfire. She had no idea the attack had targeted her brother until first responders arrived on scene. Speaking to reporters, Tracy described the attack as cold and unrelenting, saying the shooters showed no mercy and appeared determined to kill.
Samuels told reporters her son was not an aggressive person, and rarely spent time socializing outside the home. “He doesn’t hang out in crowds,” she explained. “He would roll his weed, sit right in our yard, smoke and drink by himself. He never kept much company.” The family believes Jamal was caught in crossfire, in the wrong place at the wrong time for a attack meant for someone else.
Belizean police have not yet confirmed a clear target for the attack. ASP Stacy Smith, a staff officer with the department, told reporters investigators suspect the shooting stems from ongoing internal conflict between criminal factions in the Backaland area. Smith also confirmed Jamal had prior interactions with law enforcement, including a drug trafficking charge filed in 2025.
In the aftermath of the shooting, Samuels shared her deepest regret as a mother: she never managed to move her family out of the violence-plagued neighborhood of Belize City to safer ground. “I always wished I could have moved my two boys out of Belize, away from all this,” she said. “Now I only have one son left. I don’t know how I’m going to get through this — this killing brings back every terrible memory of losing my first son.”
Adding to Samuels’ distress in the days after the shooting, authorities have detained her only remaining surviving son for questioning in connection with the incident, leaving the grieving mother isolated ahead of Mother’s Day. The report, filed by News Five correspondent Paul Lopez, underscores the persistent toll violent street crime takes on Belizean urban families, turning a national holiday of celebration into a day of quiet survival for those touched by murder. The original newscast was transcribed from News Five’s evening television broadcast, with Kriol language remarks preserved in standard spelling for the transcript.