Belize: Police officer shot, people concerned about rising crime

Belize: A police officer was brutally shot on his feet by an assassin on Saturday morning. The police have captured the accused. Police officials told media that 50-year-old Corporal Noel Muschamp was shot to his right foot after three o’clock today on Gill Street. Muschamp told police that he was in the area cleaning his service weapon when he was approached by a group of young men, one of whom he recognized to be twenty-year-old Jashon Gonguez.

Gonguez reportedly pointed a silver firearm at Muschamp and fired several shots at him, prompting Muschamp to pull out his licensed firearm and return fire at Gonguez. Muschamp then drove off to a nearby residence.

The cause of occurrence is still unknown while officials are investigating, and one person has already been detained. The crime across Belize is increasing; the attack on a police officer has revealed how unsafe the country has become not only for the general public but also for the police.

A local resident named Humberto Juarez expressed concerns on the safety of the people. "If assailants are going after armed police officers now, what’s to be expected of unarmed common civilians? What can be done to improve our uprising crime situation?"

Some people believe there are loopholes in the story being told by the police in this case. People are astonished to hear that the officer was servicing his service weapon on the streets.

A resident named Percival Thompson wrote on Facebook," He was in the area cleaning his service weapon ? Is that where police officers normally clean their service weapon."