7 News Belize

Tonight, the Humes-Baizar family has lost its second son to gang violence. It happened at 9:00 last night when Shakeem Humes Sr. was sitting in front of his home at 8 miles. That's when a vehicle parked in front of him, and someone inside called out to him. When he went over, a hail of bullets began to fly.

Shakeem died on the spot, and this morning his sister told us that his death comes painfully close to the anniversary of their brother Shakidi's death, who was murdered in August 2018.

Cherisse Halsall reports on this young father's violent end.

27-year-old Shakeem Humes was gunned down last night in front of his home in the Westlake area of 8 miles. He'd often sat in the front yard working on his Toyota Corolla but his family believes that last night was different. That's because he was being watched. We heard from his sister early this morning.

Tracy Baizer - Sister of the deceased.

"They came down the street off the road, came down the street I guess yelled his name. He stood up in this fridge where he sits every night so he was being monitored. Three men came out, they just did what they had to do or what they came to do. He sits on this, this, this fridge right here that I'm sitting on it's right here, right here he was sitting right here where I'm sitting. He does this every night with his friends but I guess he monitored him sitting out here by himself.

Cherisse Halsall

"Do you have any idea why they would have targeted your brother?"

Tracy Baizer

"In the streets like I said yes he's from George street, yes you know I'm not saying that he's a good child but he's done stuff and we know that. we've seen him on the news for some stuff that he didn't do. It's hard because my little brother that they killed at the clinic was going to be like 2 years the 31st of this month right here, my older brother was the fourth and now they killed his brother on the 5th, everybody knows Bap, everybody knows Bap, he's loving, he's caring regardless of whatever but they took away somebody great from us from the Baizer family, from the Humes family, his friends, mom, how can we deal with this."

Back in 2018 Shakidi Baizar's murder led to a spate of retaliatory violence and this afternoon we asked Commissioner of Police Chester Williams whether or not the same should be expected this time around.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

"I will offer my condolences firstly to the mother you would know that Ms. Jenny Baizar worked for the police for a number of years and I know her personally. Shakeem Humes, again was a young man, you know he was in the streets and for sometime now he has gone underground, we've not been hearing much from him but we do understand that the issue of the gang rivalries do continue and he was not ever out of the fray and so with that, last night was a bit of a surprise to me, I didn't expect it to occur but nonetheless that you have alluded to, when his brother was killed, that let to a state of shootings and murders in 2018 and this time around, I am hoping that is not going to happen but I can also tell you that we have things in place to ensure that it does not occur and a matter of fact, those persons who we believe are involved, we are already in the process of picking then up and investigation in going to continue to see where we can go but at the end of the day, it still has a lot to do with how those persons who may have seen would respond to the police. If it is that we can get sufficient evidence to charge someone, then that will help us significantly, in the absence of that then we will have to see what we can do otherwise and I must warn that if those persons who may want to retaliate on his behalf, they need to understand that they reside on Southside and Southside is still under a state of emergency which has now been extended for 2 months. So, if its that we see that they are going to start with their nonsense and want to be shooting and injuring innocent people then we will do what needs to be done."

Shakeem Humes Sr. leaves behind four boys; the youngest is only 6 months old.