On June 2, 2026, a unusual shooting incident left a 23-year-old Belize City man wounded in his own home, triggering an ongoing police probe centered on an unregistered weapon, law enforcement officials confirmed Wednesday.
Twenty-three-year-old Christopher Zetina told investigators that the injury he sustained was the result of an accidental discharge of a firearm he was holding at his residence on St. Joseph Street, which occurred at approximately 4:15 p.m. local time Tuesday. Police were first alerted to the incident after learning Zetina had sought treatment at Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, where detectives first interviewed him about the event.
Assistant Superintendent of Police Stacy Smith, staff officer for the department, outlined the details of the ongoing investigation in a press briefing. “Police are investigating a shooting incident which resulted in the injury of twenty-three-year-old Christopher Zetina, which occurred at around four fifteen p.m. on the second June, 2026 on St. Joseph Street, Belize City,” Smith said. “The investigators reported that they visited the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, having learned that an injured person was at that location, and from speaking to Mr. Zetina, they learned that he was at his residence and he had a firearm in his possession, and it accidentally discharged, injuring him.”
A core point of the investigation is verifying Zetina’s account of events, as well as tracking down the weapon involved. Crucially, department records confirm Zetina holds no valid license to carry a firearm in Belize, opening the door to potential criminal charges even beyond the shooting itself.
When asked by reporter Britney Gordon whether charges would be filed for unlawful possession of the unlicensed gun, Smith explained that the prosecution process for illegal weapons charges relies on a key piece of evidence that remains missing as of Wednesday. “I know when it comes to prosecution in relation to possession of an unlicensed firearm, a very important component is for the firearm in question to be tendered into evidence. That is not the position as yet, but we acknowledge that there was an admission on his part that he was at some point in time in possession of a firearm, so we are exploring to see how best to address that situation,” Smith said.
As of the publication of this report, law enforcement officials have not yet recovered the weapon, and the investigation remains active and ongoing.