Carib Scope

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  • Gofundme launched for boy bitten by dogs over 100 times

    Gofundme launched for boy bitten by dogs over 100 times

    A brutal dog attack on a young American child vacationing in the Bahamas has resulted in a one-year prison sentence for the Bimini-based canine owner, according to court proceedings. Harrington Rolle, 34, accepted full culpability for multiple offenses connected to the July 28 incident that left 9-year-old Beau Brattain of Florida covered in more than 100 bite wounds, requiring emergency medical intervention and multiple major surgeries.

    Acting Chief Magistrate Ancella Evans handed down the combined sentences after reviewing graphic evidence of the attack, including photographs of Brattain’s severe injuries that the magistrate described as deeply disturbing. Rolle pled guilty to three separate charges: negligently inflicting grievous bodily harm, keeping a dangerous dog that caused harm to another person, and allowing a dangerous dog to roam freely in a public area. All three sentences will run concurrently, resulting in a total 12-month custodial term.

    The attack unfolded around 10 a.m. on a public Bimini beach, where Brattain was collecting sand during a family holiday. Rolle’s six dogs escaped from their unsecured enclosure and assaulted the child, biting repeatedly across his face, head, arms and legs. The attack was only halted when an anonymous passerby stepped in to chase the pack away, potentially saving the young boy’s life.

    Emergency first responders transported Brattain to a local Bimini clinic, but the severity of his injuries required an emergency airlift to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Florida for advanced care. Prosecutors confirmed the child has already undergone two surgeries, one of which lasted a full 10 hours, to address life-threatening damage. Court documentation noted large portions of tissue were torn away from Brattain’s arm during the assault.

    During sentencing, Rolle appeared visibly distressed and took full responsibility for the incident. He told the court he had confined the six dogs in a storage shed, but acknowledged the lock on the structure was faulty and failed to keep the animals contained. When asked how he would have responded if the child had died from his injuries, Rolle admitted he had no defense and acknowledged his negligence was entirely at fault.

    In the wake of the attack, Brattain’s family launched a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe to cover the overwhelming costs associated with the child’s care, including immediate medical bills, ongoing rehabilitation, travel for treatment, and other related recovery expenses. The family set an initial goal of $350,000, and by the time local media confirmed the sentencing on Thursday, more than $240,000 had already been raised from public donations.

    Brattain’s family said in a statement that their sole focus for the coming weeks and months will be supporting the child through his recovery. “Alongside the overwhelming emotional toll, they are now facing significant medical expenses, travel costs and rehabilitation needs related to this tragic incident,” the statement read, adding that Brattain faces what the family describes as a “long and difficult road to recovery.” The case was prosecuted by Sergeant Vernon Pyfrom.

  • ‘Go to the beach’ says BGC CEO amid power crisis

    ‘Go to the beach’ says BGC CEO amid power crisis

    Widespread, prolonged power outages have plagued New Providence for weeks, leaving many residents without electricity for days at a time – and leaders of the Bahamas’ key energy providers say consumers should prepare for continued disruptions through the end of summer, driven by unforeseen record-high temperatures and decades-old infrastructure. Senior energy officials laid out the challenges facing the country’s power grid during a press conference hosted by the Office of the Prime Minister, outlining the multiple overlapping factors that have sparked the recent crisis.

    Anthony Christie, chief operating officer of Bahamas Power and Light (BPL), told reporters that the utility cannot promise fewer outages over the coming weeks. After two to three months of above-average temperatures that have already pushed the grid beyond its planned capacity, meteorological forecasts call for even hotter conditions in August and September, which will send demand for air conditioning even higher.

    While BPL conducts annual planning for peak summer energy demand, Christie said current temperatures and consumption levels were well outside projections. “Based on abnormal conditions, we’re seeing higher loads, higher temperatures and more frequent failures on equipment,” he explained. “So that’s now straining a lot of our resources that we did not really anticipate would be needed at this level.”

    When pressed on whether BPL had failed to adequately prepare for summer demand, Christie rejected that claim, emphasizing the current crisis stems from entirely unforeseen conditions. Utility crews are working around the clock to reinforce grid infrastructure, reduce outage durations and minimize disruption for households, but Christie stressed that 100% uninterrupted power is not a realistic outcome. “They don’t want the light to never go off, but that’s not reality,” he said. “The light will go off. The power will go off. There will be an issue, a challenge that has to be addressed. But again, we’re trying to shorten the outages and lessen the impact.”

    BPL Executive Chair Christina Alston echoed that defense of the utility’s preparation work, noting that no mechanical or electrical system delivers flawless, constant operation. “Saying that the system is going to be on 100 percent of the time, that is a very unrealistic goal,” she said. “No system is 100 percent, 100 percent of the time. Your car doesn’t work 100 percent, 100 percent of the time. Nothing mechanical or electrical works 100 percent, 100 percent of the time. But what we have done is systematically gone through and mitigated where we could see problems occurring.”

    Alston described the Bahamas’ power network as one of the most complex in the Caribbean, and urged residential consumers to give providers flexibility by cutting back on unnecessary energy use through the remaining hot months. Officials clarified that this call is not asking residents to give up air conditioning or other home comforts – only to use energy mindfully.

    Dareo McKenzie, chief executive officer of Bahamas Grid Company (BGC), which now manages New Providence’s transmission and distribution network under the government’s ongoing energy reform agenda, acknowledged public frustration but offered a lighthearted perspective on temporary outages: “Sometimes it may not be a bad thing. I go out and sit on the beach and enjoy what this beautiful island has to offer.” He quickly added that this personal take does not override the provider’s core commitment to consumers: “But to each his own, and it does not override our sacred responsibility to the consumers, which is to provide safe, reliable, and resilient service.”

    McKenzie noted that New Providence’s grid faces consistent pressure from two daily peak demand periods, leaving the system almost no time to recover. BPL has already asked government agencies to cut energy consumption by reducing air conditioning use in public buildings, a step Alston said has already helped the provider restore power to more residential users and small businesses.

    Alongside ageing infrastructure and abnormal heat, BGC is also grappling with persistent workforce challenges: the company struggles to recruit and retain skilled line workers. Currently, BGC only fields between 60 and 80 line workers to cover demand, though McKenzie said the company has taken steps to address the gap, including recruiting graduates from the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute, advertising open roles, and hiring experienced former BPL staff, including retired workers.

    The current grid challenges come as the Davis administration prioritizes broad energy sector reform. The government recently transferred responsibility for New Providence’s transmission and distribution network to BGC for long-term upgrading and maintenance, after originally structuring the partnership with Pike Corporation, a US firm whose Bahamian subsidiary Island Grid Solutions was set to be BGC’s majority shareholder – though Pike has since withdrawn from the arrangement.

    A correction appended to the original reporting clarifies that McKenzie, not Christie, made the comments about enjoying the beach during outages, a mistake the original outlet apologized for.

  • Eco-tourism pioneer Keith Cooper dies at the age of 69

    Eco-tourism pioneer Keith Cooper dies at the age of 69

    The tight-knit coastal community of West End on Grand Bahama is gathering to mourn the passing of Keith Cooper, a trailblazing local eco-tourism entrepreneur and lifelong community champion who introduced thousands of people to the rich underwater biodiversity of the region’s waters. Cooper, the 69-year-old founder of West End Ecology Tours, collapsed and passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, August 2.

    A native of West End, Cooper launched his eco-tourism venture in 2010 after returning to his hometown more than 20 years earlier following time living abroad. He quickly built a reputation as a trusted guide, leading hundreds of excursions to the iconic Sandy Cay that gave visitors the rare opportunity to interact safely with wild stingrays, while learning firsthand about the area’s shark populations, native fish species, and the delicate interconnected marine ecosystem that supports the island’s coast.

    Kingsley Smith, the Member of Parliament for West Grand Bahama, emphasized that Cooper’s legacy stretches far beyond his successful tourism business. In the years after his return to West End, Smith said, Cooper poured his energy into lifting up the next generation of local young people, creating accessible outdoor programs that taught core skills like swimming and fishing, before expanding to add sailing opportunities. “It was something new for the community, and many young people benefited from his programme,” Smith noted.

    Cooper’s tours also reshaped West End’s tourism landscape, drawing travelers who otherwise would have only visited the area’s popular nightlife into the heart of the village to experience its unspoiled natural beauty. Most recently, he had expanded his local footprint by venturing into the restaurant industry: he purchased the former Coffee on the Bay property, renovated the space, and launched Conchshells, a new eatery designed to give both residents and visitors an authentic taste of West End’s local culture and cuisine.

    Joseph Darville, chairman of the Bahamian environmental advocacy group Save The Bays, shared that he joined Cooper on an excursion to Sandy Cay just two weeks before his death, to observe nurse sharks during their annual mating season. Darville said Cooper was enthusiastic and full of energy during the trip, updating him on the final renovations for his new restaurant and looking forward to its opening. “Keith Cooper had an intimate, almost divine knowledge of the ocean, the fish and everything connected to marine life,” Darville said, noting he had spent hundreds of hours exploring West End’s waters with Cooper over the years. “I learned a great deal from him. I always looked forward to spending time with him.”

    Cooper also regularly partnered with environmental education programs, opening his tour sites to student groups who came to study marine ecosystems firsthand. He spent countless hours teaching visitors and students alike how to safely and respectfully interact with local marine life, Darville added.

    Beyond his work in tourism and youth development, Cooper was also a critical support for West End in times of crisis. Following damaging hurricanes that have repeatedly impacted the Bahamas, Smith said Cooper leveraged his extensive network of international connections built through decades of tourism work to secure donations and emergency aid for local residents. “Any time there was a disaster, Keith used the many international contacts he had built over the years to help West End,” Smith explained. “People donated, and he always used his reach for the benefit of the community.”

    Since news of Cooper’s death broke, tributes have flooded social media from current and former residents, past tour guests, and friends, many of whom highlighted the indelible mark he left on Grand Bahama’s identity and marine conservation work. Multiple commenters described his passing as a devastating loss for the community, noting that the island will never be the same without his leadership and passion. Both Smith and Darville extended formal condolences to Cooper’s family and loved ones, reflecting on the deep void his death leaves in the West End community. “He will be greatly missed,” Darville said.

  • Historian urges national hero status for enslaved woman who killed planter

    Historian urges national hero status for enslaved woman who killed planter

    At the National Emancipation Rally held Saturday at Independence Park, prominent Vincentian historian Michael Dennie has launched a public call for a radical reexamination of the nation’s freedom narrative, demanding that Nelly the Ebo—an enslaved African woman who killed a powerful aristocratic plantation owner on the island of Mayreau before being executed alongside four other co-conspirators—be formally recognized as St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ first Black national hero by next year’s Emancipation Day.

    Dennnie’s address upends the long-held framing of emancipation as a charitable gift granted by British colonial authorities, arguing instead that the freedom enjoyed by modern Vincentians was purchased not only with financial cost but with the blood of generations of enslaved people who resisted their subjugation.

    Citing archival records, Dennie recounted that Nelly, an Ebo woman held in bondage, carried out a targeted act of lethal resistance against the plantation owner: an elite aristocrat who controlled multiple estates across St. Vincent and other Caribbean territories. As the planter rode his horse across the estate, Nelly attacked him with a hoe, inflicting fatal wounds. She and four other enslaved women then disposed of his body by throwing it into the sea. When the killing was uncovered, colonial authorities quickly arrested all five women. Four were hanged directly on the estate, while Nelly was transported to the capital Kingstown for a public trial and execution.

    Archives label the five women “conspirators,” a term Dennie rejects outright. “That is the wrong word—they are co-freedom fighters,” he told the assembled crowd, noting that their sacrifice places them at the center of the national story of liberation. He emphasized that enslaved women in St. Vincent were not passive victims of chattel slavery, but active, courageous leaders in the ongoing fight for freedom.

    Beyond the call for Nelly’s recognition, Dennie laid out three core arguments to reshape how Vincentians understand their national history. First, he noted that St. Vincent had the shortest period of organized chattel slavery of any territory in the British Caribbean—a distinction he says deserves far greater national recognition and celebration. Second, he pointed out that a portion of the population, particularly members of the Garifuna community, were never enslaved at all. While the British carried out a mass expulsion of Garifuna after their conquest of the island, Dennie explained that the expulsion was not total, and many Garifuna families remained in communities such as Greiggs, retaining their freedom throughout the colonial slavery era.

    Finally, Dennie reiterated that emancipation, achieved in partial form in 1834 and full legal form in 1838, was not the result of colonial benevolence. Resistance to enslavement began long before enslaved Africans arrived in the Caribbean, he explained: most people captured for the transatlantic slave trade were captives of war who already fought for their freedom, losing many comrades on African soil and during the middle passage. “Africans simply didn’t say, ‘Okay, here we are, take us across the Atlantic,’” he said. “Those who fought on land, many died. Those who fought at sea, many died. And when they arrived here in the Caribbean and in St. Vincent, they fought again, and many died.”

    Dennie framed his address as part of a broader collective effort by historians at the rally to unpack the full cost of emancipation. He focused his remarks on the blood price of freedom, leaving discussion of the financial cost—including the controversial policy that compensated enslaved owners rather than the people they had enslaved—to fellow historian Dr. Adrian Fraser, who spoke after him.

    He described Nelly’s act of resistance as extraordinary both in its own time and today, arguing that formal recognition of her heroism would send a clear message about which national stories the country chooses to honor and pass to future generations. “This is not something which was possible in colonial times, but it is our government now. We have the capacity to decide who are our heroes,” Dennie said. “We have to understand which stories must be told, which stories have a reverence to which our children must be acquainted. The story of Nelly the Ebo, a Black woman standing against slavery, and with other Black women giving their lives so that we today could enjoy freedom — let us remember them in the most positive way we can. Make Nelly the Ebo a national hero.”

    Closing his remarks, Dennie urged that this unspoken history of Black resistance be taught, widely shared and institutionalized in national commemorations, starting with the formal honoring of Nelly and the four other freedom fighters who gave their lives. “Those who gave their lives deserve that honour,” he said.

  • Police probe Rodney Bay Strip incident that left woman seriously injured

    Police probe Rodney Bay Strip incident that left woman seriously injured

    A violent late-night incident on the Rodney Bay Strip in Saint Lucia has left a 28-year-old woman in serious but stable hospital condition, after she was struck by an oncoming minivan amid a public altercation Sunday evening. Early findings from the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force outline that the victim became involved in a physical confrontation with two other individuals — one man and one woman — before the conflict spilled onto the adjacent roadway, where she was hit by the approaching minivan before first responders arrived.

    Local emergency response teams were dispatched immediately after reports of the incident came in. Crews from the Saint Lucia Fire Service arrived at the Rodney Bay Strip scene within minutes to extract the injured woman and coordinate urgent transport to the Owen King EU Hospital, the island’s primary public acute care facility. Initial assessments from emergency responders on site documented only lower body injuries, but updated information from a family member speaking to local publication St. Lucia Times confirms the victim’s harm is far more severe than first reported. The woman has sustained multi-system trauma, including extensive damage to her jaw, mouth, and teeth, that requires ongoing inpatient medical care.

    Local law enforcement has now launched a full formal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident. The Criminal Investigations Department assigned to the Gros Islet Police Divisional Headquarters, which has jurisdiction over the Rodney Bay area, is leading the inquiry, working to piece together the sequence of events that led to the altercation and subsequent collision. As of the latest update, police have not released additional details regarding potential charges, the identities of the other parties involved in the altercation, or the status of the minivan driver, and have asked any witnesses who were present on the Rodney Bay Strip Sunday night to come forward with information to support the ongoing investigation.

  • SRP DIES IN CRASH

    SRP DIES IN CRASH

    A 33-year-old off-duty special reserve police constable has died following a high-impact vehicle crash in his assigned policing district of Siparia, Trinidad and Tobago, triggering an outpouring of public grief and renewed calls for road safety awareness across the country.

    Seon Gaskill, an officer attached to the Siparia Police Station, suffered fatal injuries in the collision that took place just before 6 p.m. on Sunday along the busy Siparia Oropouche Road. Initial witness accounts confirm that after navigating a curved stretch of the main road, Gaskill lost control of his white Toyota Hilux pickup truck. The vehicle first collided with a parked brown NP 300 before careening into a boundary wall on an empty residential lot.

    Local law enforcement and emergency medical responders were dispatched to the scene immediately, but Gaskill was pronounced dead at the site of the crash. Kazim Abdul, the resident who owns the wall damaged in the incident, described the chaotic moments after the crash to local reporters. He told reporters he had just arrived home when he heard a deafening impact. “I heard this loud noise outside and I ran out of the house. I saw the van against the wall, and the wall was broken. The guy was lying on the ground next to the vehicle. It looked like part of his body was beneath the van. He was motionless. The van was a wreck,” Abdul shared.

    While Abdul noted that the Siparia Oropouche Road bend is not a notorious high-accident zone, he added that similar incidents have occurred at the same location in past years. “This area does not have a lot of accidents, but a while ago someone ran off the road coming around the same bend. Some years ago, another vehicle ran into my wall,” he said. Abdul emphasized that drivers bear responsibility for adjusting their speed to navigate the curved road, saying, “It is a major road and possibly people have to take their time when negotiating the bend. We have to be careful on the nation’s roads.”

    News of Gaskill’s sudden passing spread rapidly across social media over the weekend, with hundreds of messages of condolence pouring in from colleagues, friends, and community members. Many members of the public expressed deep shock and sadness at the loss of the serving officer. Tributes ranged from heartfelt remembrances to messages of support for Gaskill’s family, with one social media user writing, “My real soldier boi, rip king,” and another commenting, “Rest in Paradise Gaskill, hard one.”

    Following the crash, Gaskill’s vehicle was impounded and transported to the Siparia Police Station, where investigators are continuing to piece together the exact circumstances that led to the fatal incident.

    In comments to reporters following the crash, Brent Batson, road safety coordinator for the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS), noted that while overall road fatalities have fallen this year, dangerous driving behavior on local low-speed roads threatens to reverse that progress. Batson reported that as of the current point in 2024, the country has recorded 55 road traffic deaths, a 21% drop from the 70 deaths recorded during the same period in 2023. “Even though the deaths are trending in the right direction, we are seeing a level of risk-taking that could quickly reverse this trend,” Batson warned.

    Batson added that three recent fatal traffic crashes, including Gaskill’s, all occurred on non-highway local roads with speed limits as low as 50 kph, a trend that has raised concerns among law enforcement. He cited recent fatal crashes on Rivulet Road in Point Lisas, the Eastern Main Road, and the Southern Main Road, noting that all involved high-risk, reckless behavior that led to loss of life. “We are seeing a lot of high risk accidents. A vehicle ended up on a pole. We are seeing high risk crashes on low speed roads, such as main roads, with speed limits (50 kph). We are engaging in a reckless type of behaviour,” Batson said.

    Batson stressed that compliance with road traffic regulations remains the most effective way to prevent preventable deaths, reminding drivers that they cannot account for the actions of other road users. “Speed will make a difference if you can stop the car or if you are going to lose control, and have an unplanned event on the roadway. It could lead to death or injury,” he said. The TTPS extended its official condolences to Gaskill’s family, friends, and colleagues following his death.

  • Work continues on the gradual restoration of the National Electric System

    Work continues on the gradual restoration of the National Electric System

    Nearly three days after a nationwide total blackout left Cuba’s entire integrated electricity generation network offline, restoration work on the country’s National Electric System (SEN) is moving forward step by step, though officials warn that supply shortfalls will continue even after full grid reconnection.

    The full-system collapse struck at 10:43 p.m. local time on Sunday, triggering an immediate activation of emergency contingency protocols by Cuba’s National Electric Union. Crews worked around the clock through Monday’s early morning and full day to bring disconnected parts of the grid back online in a phased, structured process.

    Félix Estrada Rodríguez, director of the National Load Dispatch Center, outlined the technical strategy guiding the recovery: restoration teams first focused on restarting thermal generation units at the Mariel and Santa Cruz del Norte facilities to build stable small-scale microsystems, which would then be expanded to connect broader regions across the country. By around 5:05 p.m. on Monday, the team had connected the grid from Pinar del Río to Cienfuegos, when unplanned severe weather disrupted the progress. Severe thunderstorms and heavy downpours across western Cuba damaged transmission infrastructure, forcing all power units in the existing Pinar del Río to Cienfuegos microsystem offline.

    Crews immediately reactivated emergency restoration protocols to restart the impacted western microsystem, bringing idled thermal power plants that were mid-startup back online once power supply was restored. As of the latest official update published August 4, 2026, the interconnected grid now reaches from Pinar del Río to Holguín, with active work ongoing to connect the remaining eastern provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, and Granma.

    The national restoration strategy prioritizes consolidating the western power network first before advancing gradually into central and eastern Cuba. Throughout the process, priority is given to energizing critical substations and distribution networks that serve essential public facilities including hospitals and urban water supply systems.

    Despite steady progress toward full nationwide interconnection, Estrada Rodríguez confirmed that disruptions and targeted outages will continue even after all regions are reconnected to the grid. Persistent generation deficits, the senior engineer explained, will leave the system unable to meet full national demand for the foreseeable future, even after restoration work is completed.

  • Agriculture : Donation of post-harvest equipment to reduce losses and improve incomes

    Agriculture : Donation of post-harvest equipment to reduce losses and improve incomes

    Haiti’s agricultural sector is receiving targeted support to address one of its most costly ongoing challenges: widespread post-harvest losses that have drained rural household incomes for decades. Launched as part of the national Resilient Agriculture for Food Security Project (known locally by its French acronym PARSA), the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development (MARNDR) is rolling out new infrastructure and equipment to small-scale producers across the country’s South Department, with full financing from the World Bank.

    The core of the current initiative focuses on expanding access to on-farm drying and storage infrastructure, a gap that has long left Haitian farmers vulnerable to spoilage and reduced crop quality. To date, project teams have completed construction of 150 20-square-meter drying sheds, distributed across four South Department municipalities: 57 in Cavaillon, 60 in Saint-Louis-du-Sud, 25 in Port-Salut, and 15 in Saint-Jean-du-Sud. Each shed is built directly on the beneficiary’s property to cut down on transport time and make daily drying operations more accessible for small family farms.

    The purpose-built drying spaces are designed to accommodate a wide range of Haiti’s staple and export crops, including maize, beans, sorghum, cocoa, and coffee. To amplify the project’s community impact, participating farmers are encouraged to share their drying infrastructure with neighboring producers when not in use, fostering collective benefit across local agricultural networks.

    Before the PARSA project launched, the lack of dedicated post-harvest infrastructure led to devastating losses for smallholders in the region. Without proper drying and storage facilities, crops were frequently exposed to moisture, pests, and spoilage, lowering overall produce quality, cutting market value, and shrinking already tight household incomes for thousands of family farms.

    Beyond drying infrastructure, the project delivers tailored equipment to match the specific needs of different producer operations. Farmers opting for expanded storage receive two commercial silos, while those requesting small-scale tools receive a kit including two drums, four waterproof tarpaulins, and one wheelbarrow to support post-harvest handling and transport.

    In early April 2026, a MARNDR monitoring team traveled to Port-Salut to evaluate how beneficiaries are using the new equipment and infrastructure, and to measure early impacts on local production and processing activities. Early assessments confirm that the new resources have already cut post-harvest loss rates significantly, while improving overall crop quality for market sale.

    MARNDR officials note that the investments deliver a tangible, solution-focused response to longstanding post-harvest challenges in Haiti’s southern agricultural region. By combining infrastructure improvements, targeted equipment distribution, and ongoing technical support, the project works to upgrade storage conditions, boost rural household incomes, and drive sustainable modernization of small-scale Haitian farms. Ultimately, the initiative advances MARNDR’s broader goal of building a more productive, climate-resilient agricultural sector that can reliably advance national food security goals.

  • Grandmother Says Police Got It Wrong After Vernon Street Killing

    Grandmother Says Police Got It Wrong After Vernon Street Killing

    On the afternoon of August 3, 2026, a fatal midday shooting on Vernon Street in Belize City has left a young print shop worker dead and sparked a family dispute over police investigative actions.

    Nineteen-year-old Eworth Hernandez, a local print shop employee, left his home heading to work Wednesday, never to arrive at his destination or return alive. The shooting unfolded in broad daylight directly in front of Swift Hall, sending shockwaves through the neighborhood. News of the incident reached Hernandez’s family immediately, who rushed to the emergency department of Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH), where they struggled to come to terms with the sudden loss of their young relative.

    Authorities have not yet released confirmed details on the underlying motive for the gunfire. Shortly after the shooting, Belizean police conducted a raid on a neighboring residential property, taking multiple young men from the home into custody for questioning. Among those detained are grandchildren of the elderly Belize City resident who has now spoken out, claiming law enforcement has targeted the wrong people.

    In an on-record interview with local outlet News Five, the grandmother pushed back against police action, saying: “I would want the police to leave my grandchildren alone, because my grandchildren are not even doing what they say. They already have one for a cycle over there. All kind of things they are holding my grandchildren for. They run all the way in the room for the little boy and the little boy, one of them just wake up and one is laying on the bed. They handcuff the two of them. They took four of them, or five.”

    When asked if she believed her grandchildren could be involved in the killing, she flatly denied any connection: “They say they carried them for some murder in Martins. You think your grandchildren they capable of committing such a crime? No, no, no. I nuh seh deh nuh talk deh kind of craziness, but they don’t do those things.”

    According to official updates from the Belize Police Department, surveillance camera footage from the area led to the detention of one suspect connected to the shooting, while a second person of interest remains at large. Assistant Superintendent of Police Stacy Smith, Staff Officer for the department, confirmed to reporters that city-wide surveillance infrastructure was key to locating the individual already in custody.

    Smith laid out a detailed timeline of the incident for reporters: “The investigation commenced today at around 1:15 p.m., when officers on patrol were alerted to shots being fired on Vernon Street in Belize City. A team of officers responded to the scene where they observed an injured Mr. Hernandez who was rushed for medical attention. However, he succumbed to the injuries he sustained.”

    She further detailed the sequence of events captured by nearby cameras: “What police have been able to establish having reviewed video footage in the area is that Mr. Hernandez was travelling on Vernon Street near the intersection with Partridge Street when he stopped on the side of the road and remained on his motorcycle. Some minutes later he was approached by two male person and one produced a firearm and fired a single shot which struck Mr. Hernandez. Police were able to detain a male person who matched the description of one of the suspects and that person remains in detention as investigations continues.”

    When responding directly to the grandmother’s claims that police incorrectly detained her family members during the immediate post-shooting operation, Smith defended law enforcement actions. She stated that all investigative steps taken were based on evidence gathered from city surveillance systems, and assured the public that all police operations are conducted within legal boundaries: “What I can say is that there are police cameras all over Belize City and in other parts of the country and based on what was seen on those cameras certain actions were taken. I want to assure everybody that police operation will be done within the confines of the law as investigation continues.”

    As of Wednesday evening, investigators have not yet confirmed why Hernandez was in the Vernon Street area at the time of the shooting, and the probe remains ongoing with no established motive. This report is a transcript of a televised evening newscast, with Kriol-language quotations transcribed using standard spelling conventions.

  • Pregnant Woman, Kimane Garbutt, Found Dead on Vernon Street

    Pregnant Woman, Kimane Garbutt, Found Dead on Vernon Street

    A tragic and unsettling discovery in Belize City has launched a formal police investigation into the death of a young pregnant woman, whose remains were found inside a downtown residential building early this month. On Sunday, August 2, 2026, authorities responded to a 9:30 a.m. emergency call from a friend of 22-year-old Kimane Garbutt, who had gained entry to Garbutt’s second-floor Vernon Street apartment after repeated attempts to contact her went unanswered. When the friend entered the space, they found Garbutt’s decomposed body and immediately alerted local law enforcement.

    According to Assistant Superintendent Stacy Smith, Staff Officer for the Belize Police Department, Garbutt was last confirmed alive at approximately 7 a.m. on August 1, 2026. At that final interaction, the 22-year-old, who was carrying an unborn child, told a close friend she was feeling unwell. Concerned for her wellbeing the next morning, the friend checked in on her just two hours after police were ultimately called to the scene.

    As the investigation moves into its early stages, law enforcement has not yet labeled the death as suspicious. Smith confirmed that no foul play is suspected at this point in the inquiry, but emphasized that a full postmortem examination is required to pinpoint the exact medical cause of Garbutt’s death. Garbutt’s body is currently being held pending that forensic examination, which investigators say will clarify the sequence of events leading up to her passing and resolve any remaining unanswered questions about the case.

    This report is adapted from a televised evening newscast originally published online, with all statements from officials transcribed accurately for public distribution.