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Two Teens Killed In Broad Daylight, San Martin, Belmopan
posted (September 16, 2019)
And turning now to the two other murders in the Belmopan area….

16 year old Herman Valladares and 17 year old Gruver Delgado were executed on Saturday morning at 9:45 in plain view of San Martin residents. The boys were delivering tortillas for Valladares's mother when two teenaged males pulled up on them. One of the assailants was armed and an argument ensued; it ended quickly and resolutely when shots rang out. And Valladares and Delgado lay close to death on the streer. Here's the story.

Cherisse Halsall reporting
On Saturday morning distraught residents of San Martin desperately attempted to save the lives of 16 year old Herman Valladares and 17 year old Gruver Delgado.

Residents pulled Delgado out of the dry creek where he had fallen and raced him to an ambulance as onlookers screamed in horror. They were pleading for help for Valladares, who was lying in the road shot to the head, but still alive.

The boys who were cousins were murdered On Saturday Morning in the San Martin area of Belmopan.

It happened in front of Delgado's sister's home. She saw the incident unfold and even pleaded with the shooter not to do it.

Delgado's father told us what he encountered when he arrived on the scene.

Voice of: Manuel Delgado, Father of Gruver Delgado
"At 9:45 I received a call from my sister she told me Manuel, Manuel, they kill your son. In that moment I come and take my car I run but when I reach in the place the ambulance and the police were already there. The ambulance had already picked up the body and had it in the ambulance. I didn't see how it happened. At the same time I followed the ambulance and I went to the hospital. I reach at the hospital, but they didn't give me permit to go and see him. Everybody and the family was outside waiting see what will happen. Afterwards the doctor call me and told me that he had a shot in his head - at the front and exit through the back."

The spot on the street where Gruver Delgado fell is still stained with his blood. We reached out to his sister, the primary witness for comment but she and the rest of the family declined. Manuel Delgado described her account of the events

Reporter
"You said your son's sister saw what happened. What did she tell you?"

Manuel Delgado, Father of Gruver Delgado
"She said that she saw everything, because this accident happened in front of her house and she came out and tell the boy who had the gun to please don't do it. But the boy didn't care. he went and shoot him/ Everybody saw it. It happened in the day."

Police say that the suspects in this shooting - teenagers aged 18 and 13 - are still at large and that they have yet to determine a motive.

ACP Joesph Myvette
"What the police know so far is that Delgado along with Herman Valladares were hanging out in that area when they were approached by 2 persons where an argument ensued and as a result one of those persons pulled out a firearm and fired at Delgado. As a result Valladares was also fired upon and he too in an attempt to escape from the area after he was fired upon was caught up by those 2 persons and he too was shot. He too was transported to the western regional hospital and later to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital where sometime after 4am yesterday morning he succumb to his injuries. In relation to this police are seeking 2 suspects one of whom I believe is 18 and at the time of the incident he was accompanied by a 13 year old minor whom we are also seeking."

Delgado's father is also asking why. He claims that the shooter was known to their family, but there was never any indication of a quarrel.

Manuel Delgado, Father of Gruver Delgado
"The man who had the pistol is living right there. They have a little shop that we use to go buy everyday and we were friends with the lady. Up to now we have never heard if she son had problem with my son. If they had problem they would have told me."

And while he can't figure out how an acquaintance could turn into an assassin, all he can do is reminisce about a 16 year old - who was always willing to help:

Manuel Delgado, Father of Gruver Delgado
"Last week I was casting a floor and I call him and he help me do it. I was fixing a division in my house and he came to help. He was a nice person. He was my last son."

Valladares survived his injuries until Sunday morning and was transported the KHMH where he eventually succumbed. These two lived in San Martin - the same immigrant neighborhood that was home to Adamir Choc.

PUP Standard Bearer for Belmopan Oscar Mira issued a statement calling on area representative John Saldivar to hear the people's concerns and anxieties over this situation. According to Mira: "Lack of leadership is being manifested in the blood of our children."

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