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On May 5, 2026, law enforcement in Belize City launched an investigation into a fatal public shooting that shook the community along the Philip Goldson Highway, a major thoroughfare that sees regular daily traffic. The brazen attack, carried out in full view of daytime passersby, has left one man dead and a second victim with non-fatal injuries, according to initial official updates.

Authorities have publicly identified the two men targeted in the attack as Hubert Baptist and Eric Fraser. The assault unfolded just after 3:00 p.m. local time, as the pair were traveling through the Mile 4 district near the Haulover Bridge. Within minutes of the incident, first responders arrived at the scene to secure the area and provide emergency medical care, but Baptist could not be saved.

Witness accounts and preliminary police reports detail a coordinated premeditated attack: a midsize sport utility vehicle pursued the victims’ car for an unknown distance before pulling alongside to the passenger or driver side. Once aligned, an unidentified gunman inside the pursuing vehicle opened fire directly on the victims. Multiple witnesses reported hearing more than 12 gunshots ring out in quick succession during the assault.

Struck by gunfire, the victims’ vehicle went off the road and lost control, eventually flipping over before coming to a stop. First responders extracted both men from the overturned vehicle immediately after the shooting.

As of the latest update, Belize City police have not released any information about possible suspects, motives for the attack, or a timeline for further public updates. This investigation remains an active, developing story, with law enforcement still processing evidence and interviewing witnesses to piece together the full sequence of events.

As the 2026 Anglican Schools Spelling Bee kicks off, a familiar face took a new spot in the crowd this year: last year’s champion, 10-year-old Raheem Nu’Man of All Saints Anglican Primary School, traded the competition stage for the audience to cheer on the next generation of young spellers.

Nu’Man claimed the 2025 championship title after months of rigorous preparation that saw him memorize and practice up to 100 new words every day. Looking back on the intensive training process, the young champion acknowledged the pressure of the experience, but emphasized that the challenge left him with valuable skills and unforgettable rewards.

“It was very challenging, but in the end it was nice,” Nu’Man shared in an interview ahead of this year’s competition.

Today, the 10-year-old balances his primary school academic work with his growing passion for football, and he has already set clear, ambitious goals for his future: he hopes to pursue careers as both a professional athlete and a police officer, working toward multiple dreams at once.

His father, Saleem Nu’Man, said that the trait that has stood out most to him since his son’s 2025 win is his remarkable humility for a child his age. Even after claiming the top spot, Raheem did not gloat over his victory; instead, he felt empathy for the fellow competitors who did not place high in the event.

“He felt bad for the ones who didn’t win,” Saleem Nu’Man shared.

Event organizers echoed the longstanding value of the annual spelling bee, noting that it remains a key educational activity to strengthen primary school students’ literacy, vocabulary, and language skills even as digital communication grows more pervasive in daily life and learning environments.

A full in-depth report on this year’s Anglican Schools Spelling Bee will air tonight on News 5 Live at 6:00 PM.

Every year on May 5, people across North America gather for street parties, plates of savory tacos, and icy margaritas to mark Cinco de Mayo — but for many celebrants, the deep historical meaning behind the date remains widely misunderstood. A common misconception frames the holiday as Mexico’s celebration of independence from Spanish rule, but the actual historical event it honors is far more specific, and far more remarkable: the 1862 Battle of Puebla, where an outnumbered Mexican force pulled off an upset victory against one of Europe’s most powerful armies.

Leading the ragtag Mexican militia was General Ignacio Zaragoza, who commanded a force of roughly 4,000 poorly supplied troops that stood against more than 6,000 well-trained, well-equipped French soldiers. At the time, France had invaded Mexico with plans to seize control of Mexican territory and install a European-backed puppet regime. Against all military expectations, Zaragoza’s troops defeated the French invasion force at Puebla, a major victory that became a enduring symbol of Mexican national resilience and resistance to foreign aggression.

Today, the holiday is observed with far less fanfare across most of Mexico, with large-scale celebrations concentrated almost exclusively in the city of Puebla where the battle took place. But across the border in the United States, Cinco de Mayo has grown into one of the most widely celebrated cultural holidays honoring Mexican-American heritage, transforming over more than 150 years into a vibrant showcase of Mexican art, music, food, and community identity.

Historical records show the earliest Cinco de Mayo celebrations in the U.S. date all the way back to the 1860s, just months after the Battle of Puebla. During the height of the American Civil War, Mexican communities living in California held organized gatherings to mark the victory, as both the U.S. and Mexico opposed French intervention in North America. Over the following decades, the holiday spread across the country, boosted in part by marketing efforts from food and beverage companies that turned it into a mainstream cultural event.

While modern celebrations are often centered around food and drink, historians and community leaders emphasize that the core meaning of Cinco de Mayo endures: it is a reminder of what marginalized, outnumbered communities can achieve when they stand together in defense of their sovereignty and identity, a legacy that still resonates with Mexican and Mexican-American communities today.