And while Derrick King is this afternoon’s tragedy, early this morning, it was a 5-year-old girl - the second 5-year-old to become a murder statistic in just over 24 hours. 

Little children, both killed as they slept with their mothers.  The first case was on Sunday when 5-year-old Dominique Rhamdas was shot even as his mother shielded him - he died 20 hours later, at 6:30 last night.  

And then, early this morning, another 5 years old was killed, and it has ripped the heart out of a family, and a community.  Cherisse Halsall has more:

Yesterday at breaktime, Kia Herbert might have been playing here her laughter and excited screams mixing with those of her classmates. Today this playground is quiet because the children are inside coming to terms with the death of a classmate gone far too soon.

News of the child’s death went public last night and Belizeans are outraged.

Kia was killed within 24 hours of Dominique Rhamdas, a five-year-old whose family was also targeted inside their home.

And this morning the GSU were in a frenzy on Pitter street, they seemed to be raiding houses in search of a suspect.

Kia’s grandmother is devastated. She came home from the hospital this morning and hesitated to enter her house. She’s traumatized by what she calls the worst experience of her life and more than hesitant to confront the bloodstains.

Desiree Herbert - Kia’s Grandmother
"I was in my house sleeping at about after 2 this morning. When we woke up it was by gunshot and when I got up, because we jumped up, my daughter told me, she said “Mommy my baby got shot.â€￾ And then my little granddaughter lifted up one hand and she screamed and said “mommy, mommy.â€￾ those were the last two words she said and then she died in my daughter's hands. It was the worst experience ever."

Cherisse Halsall
"We know that she was already sleeping on the floor. Why was that?"

Desiree Herbert
"Because during the day somebody chased, a boy chased my son with a gun into the yard and because of that we said we didn’t even want to sleep on the bed, we would sleep on the floor in case , you know, because we didn’t know what would happen if they were coming back or what. I saw the person but I don’t know the person none, none, none , at all. I don’t know the person at all. It was the first time I'd seen his face. If I see him again I wouldn’t even recognize his face. The only thing my eye was focusing on was the gun in his hand that happened during the afternoon but the night I can’t tell who came to shoot up my house. It was like somebody peeped into the house and saw that we were on the floor because they went and shot exactly like a little bit above the floor right where my daughter and my granddaughter had laid down in the room."

And this morning the news of the little girl’s death hit her teacher like a ton of bricks.

Lucia Melendez - Teacher
"I got down from the bus and I received the news and well I wanted to see and so I went, because I pass by their house everyday so I was walking as fast as I could I wanted to reach and see what happend, you know, and when I arrived there were a lot of people outside. I asked of course about Kia, what happend how she is. I saw the news that she died but it’s like you can’t believe it. I couldn’t take it. It was like no no not Kia like no not my student. Because just yesterday she came and she was here yesterday and I passed and then they said that she died. And I was like…, and they were wondering who I was and I had to explain to them that I'm the teacher. and then I just came to school and then the teachers came and then it’s sad news for everybody not only me.

"I think all of us in the staff felt it. It's very hard for me to come here especially to see her little friends and then how I was going to explain to them that she’s not coming back..I couldn’t the other teacher have to do it, I couldn’t do it. And even up to now I can’t stand up there and teach cause I feel like a part of me is missing this is what these criminals don’t understand they don’t only affect the mother, not no, they affect a whole community. She was like my daughter and I feel like my class will never be the same as before. It won’t. I’m sorry I can’t."

It seems that Kia’s sweet nature was one that invited nurturing.

Caroline Flores - School Warden
"Kia was a sweet little girl. I called her my second daughter because when she will go, come to school she will holler, Ms. Carol sees my money right here for my lunch. She would give it to me or her mom would give it to me. I would buy her lunch and bring it. Ms. Carol i’m ready to eat. Kia your lunch is already there and she would say I want a juice with straw spoiled then. I was shocked I was really shocked I couldn’t believe it when I went to the aunt what was happening."

And the Warden is haunted by Kia’s last very specific request. Maybe because it’s a request she won’t be able to fulfill, but it's also difficult because Kia inhabited her own little world filled with specific interactions, activities and even desires. All cut short by her death.

Caroline Flores
"She used to come harass me Ms. Carol buy me a meat pie and the last thing that little girl told me before she went through the gate. Ms. Carol I don’t want to eat any more Gaucho, one meat pie."

And while Unity Presbytrian mourns. Kia’s grandmother is experiencing the deepest loss.

Desiree Herbert
"Kia was a sweet little girl miss, a sweet little girl she was my little grand-daughter raised with me since she was born, raised around me, everybody loved Kia and her two sweet little dimples everything for her was granny, granny, granny, I couldn’t believe they would have taken her life so young."

Cherisse Halsall
"How is your daughter doing right now?"

Desiree Herbert
"She is okay she got shot in her shoulder but she’s okay, she’s taking everything hard but healthwise she’s okay. Thank God. The baby was the one that took most of the bullets and like what the doctors said she saved her mommy because she took all the bullets, all the bullets."

Kia Herbert's mother Francine was shot to the shoulder. This morning she was listed as stable at the KHMH.