Last night we catalogued the tragic series of violent assaults on Central
American Boulevard in just 12 hours between Monday night and Tuesday morning.
It left three dead – and three injured. We’ve told you about the
dead already – Dorrell Williams became the third when he was unplugged
form life support this morning. But what about the injured? As we told you last
night 7 year old Janay Moguel was at the Universal Hospital receiving treatment
for a bullet wound to her shoulder.
It sounded neat enough: Gunshot to the shoulder, she’s being
treated, end of story, right? Not quite; in fact, not at all. This standard
one student may never walk again because of the truly senseless act of a gunman
on a wild shooting spree. For the past two and half days Janay Moguel has been
in the intensive care unit at Belize Healthcare Partners Limited – Jacqueline
Godwin visited today and spoke to Spine surgeon Dr. Joel Cervantes who explained
when a gunshot to the shoulder is actually a bullet wound to the spine.
Jacqueline Godwin,
“Where did the bullet enter and exit?”
Dr. Joel Cervantes, Neurosurgeon/Spine Surgeon
“Right here. It entered right here, went towards the spine here and
exited this way, behind this way, it ricocheted this way. She has a exit wound
on the left upper part by the shoulder. The heat wave from the gunshot apparently
caused damage to the upper part of the spine, the thoracic spine, the level
of T3 in the thoracic spine and then the bullet apparently exited right over
the left shoulder.
Janay came to the hospital in a critical condition. Because of the wound 
to the left lung, practically the left lung was full of blood and was nearly
completely collapsed which is a life threatening injury as such. Immediately
the general surgeon inserted a chest tube which is a life saving procedure and
it was necessary for her to be intubated which is a tube put in the throat which
allowed her to breathe and she was placed on life support. We realized that
there was injury to the spine, a CAT scan was done and as soon as Janay was
stabilized she was taken to surgery where space had to be created because of
severe swelling on the spinal cord.”
Presently Janay’s condition has been stabilized. She is breathing on
her own and is able to talk but she has very limited movement which is restricted
only to her right hand.
Dr. Joel Cervantes,
“We are not really finding movement with the left arm and with both
legs at this point.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
“How worrisome is that for you?”
Dr. Joel Cervantes,
“Very worrisome because I am concerned that if she could end up having
a permanent injury and be paralyzed in both legs and the left hand. That is
a very important situation however what I can tell you is that it is early,
there is definitely a bruise along with swelling at the level of the spinal
cord, we are considering the possibility of doing an MRI of the spine which 
is a very sophisticated study to look at the tissue within the spinal cord.
However the surgery that needs to be done has been done and so we are giving
her medications to try to take off the swelling from the spinal cord so as to
not allow more swelling to develop and hopefully along with the fact that she
arrived early at the hospital and her youth, we are hoping and praying we may
be able to save the function in her leg and in her left arm.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
“What is the short term prognosis here?”
Dr. Joel Cervantes,
“The prognosis of her being alive, I think yes we can keep her alive.
Long term prognosis, I wouldn’t want to say right now, I think it is too
early.”
Janay has been responding well to treatment and is able to recognize her family,
doctors and nurses.
Dr. Joel Cervantes,
“I think she is frightened, I think she is sad, she is depressed and
she is frustrated because she is asking about both her legs and her left arm.
Also not only the fact that she can’t move her legs and her left arm but
the feeling at the level of the leg arm and both legs are not there at this
precise moment.
She is 7 years old but she is intelligent and even in her own world, her
own mind, she asks you very direct, very blunt question and she expects a very
straight up answer so I have to be very careful what I tell her. I can’t
be conclusive with my answers because I myself don’t know the final truth
behind it, the coming days are going to say it. I have to answer in a fashion
that gives her hope. If Janay loses hope and if the family loses hope then the 
neurological recovery is going to be more restricted. So we have to go in there
and smile all the time when in the back of our minds we are worried. I always
tell the parents and the family members not to speak anything negative in front
of her, not to cry because that would only depress her and make the possibility
of a better recover more difficult.”
Cadine Rhamdas, Aunt of Shooting Victim
“Well I believe we tried to avoid the questions because Janay is very
upfront, very intelligent child like he said, and we try to refrain from answering
those questions and be more positive and talking about her friends at school
asking for her, and the other kids at home asking for her, and so forth.”
Around six thirty on Monday night seven year old Janay Moguel was walking across
Central American Boulevard with her sixty four year old grandfather Steven Rhamdas
when both were shot.
Cadine Rhamdas,
“It was 6:30, was just beginning to watch the news and I was at home.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
“What did you hear?”
Cadine Rhamdas,
“I heard gunshots, almost around 15 gunshots and I immediately tried
to locate, I know Janay was up on our flat of the house right before she went
downstairs, I was looking to locate the kids to make sure that they are flat
on the ground because that kind of thing around that area is sometimes more
frequent than others.”
Janay’s parents were too distraught to speak to us on camera. Her aunt
Cadine Rhamdas says her sister had just sent her niece along with their father
to buy Creole bread across from where they lived. The grandfather and grand
daughter were on their way back when it happened.
Cadine Rhamdas,
“The gunshots rang out and he immediately grabbed her and tried to
lay down on the ground and he said he heard Janay scream and it wasn’t
a scream as though she is frightened, it was a scream as in pain scream, and
right away as the gunshots finished, I think they were barely finished when
I jumped up and looked outside and I heard her mother scream because she knows
she sent them across the street and he was lifting Janay, she looked limber,
and I automatically went for my vehicle keys because I knew something was wrong
and wanted to rush her quickly to the hospital.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
“How does this affect you as a doctor, she is an innocent victim caught
up in this ongoing gun violence here in Belize. How does this affect you emotionally
when you have to be treating a victim such like Janay?”
Dr. Joel Cervantes,
“That is a difficult question because like any other ordinary Belizean
I am a father too, I have a 9 year old son so I look at a beautiful princess
like this, 7 years old, it breaks your heart. She is also the relative of one
of our nurses and everybody looks to you along with the team for the answers
and sometimes we have the answers and sometimes we don’t. But because
of the professionalism that we have to show, we have to have, we don’t
most times show our feelings. Those feelings are inner and when we are by ourselves,
then we take some time to reflect.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
“The medical cost must be overwhelming. How can the public assist the
family at this time?”
Cadine Rhamdas,
“Well it is overwhelming at this time. At this time we have already
deposited, unfortunately her mother does not have insurance for Janay, well
not at this level of hospitalization and major medical, but at this time we
have paid up to $20,000, the bill continues to increase and we would want the
public to assist in anyway possible. Prayers will do, money will do and can
possibly deposit the money in account for Janay. You can contact her father
or her mother at 604-8121 or her mother 605-5641 and you could use account number
10103315 at First Caribbean International Bank.”
And so tonight seven year old Janay Moguel needs your prayers and financial
help to get her all the medical help she needs. Reporting for 7News Jacqueline
Godwin.
So, again – in case you missed it - if you would like to help
7 year old Janay Moguel you can make your financial donations at the First Caribbean
International Bank in account 10103315.
Initially police reports were that the shootings were committed by
two youths who fired indiscriminately into the area but today information to
7News is that just before the shootings started there was a basketball game
being played when a young man was seeing firing shots at another youth. The
intended target reportedly ducked behind a parked vehicle until the shooting
stopped but when he stood up more shots were fired at him and that is when he
made a dash onto Central American Boulevard.
But while the target got away without being injured four innocent persons
were shot they are nineteen year old Dorrel Williams Jr. ho was shot in the
eye and has now been removed from the life support machine and his family is
now preparing to lay him to rest. Twenty seven year old Robert Howard who was
shot in the head as he rode by on a bicycle seven year old Janay Moguel and
her sixty four year old grandfather Steven Rhamdas.
While Belize City police told 7News they know who they are responsible
and those persons are being sought they have yet to find their suspects.
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