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They are law enforcement officers, but a dispute between two patrons inside a popular Belize City nightspot went from words to bullets late Friday night. 31-year-old sales tax collector Reynaldo Verde and 23-year-old police recruit Jose Nunez were inside the MJ's Grand nightclub on Newtown Barracks involved in what police describe as an altercation. That altercation escalated when police say Verde pulled out his licensed 9-millimeter pistol and shot Nunez in his left arm. Verde was arraigned in court this morning on charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault, use of deadly means of harm, and discharging a firearm in public. Because it is an offence involving a firearm, Verde was remanded to prison until December 20th.

And about an hour before there were gunshots inside MJ's Grand, there were gunshots on Fairweather Street. At about 11:30pm, police responded to a call of gunshots fired in that area. They responded and saw a suspect fleeing the scene. The police set chase and fired at the suspect who was eventually captured. The suspect who was hit in the left instep told officers he walking in the area when he heard the shots and realized he had been shot. The officers didn't buy his story and believe he was the shooter and that he threw his weapon in the canal. He was taken to the KHMH for treatment and is under police guard.