7 News Belize

Another San Pedro Murder
posted (March 5, 2015)
Just a week ago, we told you about the senseless shooting murder of 2 year-old toddler Daniel Espat who was killed while he was sleeping beside his parents. That happened in the embattled neighborhood called San Pedrito, an area that police are trying - without much success - to get under control. Well, on Tuesday, 6 days after baby Daniel was killed, 38 year-old San Pedrito resident Pablo Barboza was gunned down in what looks like an execution-style slaying.

On Tuesday night at around 8, Barboza was in his shop, just a stone's throw away from where Daniel Espat's parents live, and he was serving a customer, 36 year-old Humberto Alcoser Jr. That's when a masked gunman ran in through the entrance and shot and killed Barboza and then turned his gun on the customer, who managed to escape with only an injury to the neck.

Today, the Commanding Officer of the San Pedro Police Station spoke with 7News about what the investigation is showing:

Supt. Luis Castellanos - OC, San Pedro Police
"We received information of a shooting incident in the San Pedrito area of San Pedro Town. As a result of the information received, we deployed our policemen to the polyclinic and upon our arrival at the clinic we saw that the medical officers were attending to two person. However, shortly afterwards we were informed that the person they were attending to was deceased. His name is Pablo Barboza, 38 years old businessman of San Pedrito area. Also we observed that the doctors were attending to a gentleman by the name of Humberto Alcoser Jr., 36 years old, a Belizean laborer of Tarpon Street, San Pedro Town. We notice that he was suffering from one single gunshot injury to the neck region. Initial investigation revealed that Mr. Pablo Barboza who has a small store, was attending to the gentleman Humberto Alcoser Jr., who was inside the store at the time and one male person entered with a cap and his face covered with a cloth, fired several shots at Mr. Barboza and then afterwards turned and fire a shot at the Alcoser. When the gunman entered, he realize that maybe he could have been fired at and try to do something to defend himself, but he was still injured in the process. It would appear that the store owner was targeted, because as the gunman entered, he fired several shots at Mr. Barboza. That indicates that he was the target. The gentleman Mr. Pablo, he had 3 cases before the court for drug trafficking. That indicate to us that he may to have still been involved in drug activity."

You may have noticed in our footage that the lagoon facing San Pedro was about 500 yards away. It is believed that Barboza's killer arrived on a boat which was docked at spot near the mangroves. This gunman and possibly one accomplice, avoided 2 police patrols which passed by only minutes of each other. This man, described as wearing a blue cap, and a blue rag tied over his face, then walked up to Barboza's shop, pulled out a 45 mm handgun and shot Barboza in the head and chest. Humberto Alcoser Jr. realized that he was in danger, and so he tried to wrest the gun away from the assailant. In the struggle, he was shot in the neck. That gave the gunman enough time to flee the scene, and he was seen struggling to run away due to the rocks on the street. When he made it to the boat, it sped off, and the gunman got away.

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