Last night we told you all about the ordeal endured by Austrian ex-pat Christian "Gigi" Gusenbauer when his resort called "Private Heaven" was invaded by pirates.
It's the most violent incident yet in a string of modern-day pirate attacks that have been plaguing the south of Belize. It's also become the most visible with Gusenbauer's initial cries for help posted via social media and resulting in a community-wide effort at a rescue.
And this morning Cherisse Halsall got to talk to the man himself. He's still checked in at Universal Health Care partners and is there for at least another night, but this morning he spoke candidly about the most horrific moment of his life, the memory of which, he says, will never leave him.
It was an attack on "Private Heaven", a nightmarish scenario that the resort's owner Christian "Gigi" Gusenbauer never would have expected.
But it's what confronted him when he was attacked by four armed men walking toward his house. It's a moment in time that Gusenbauer says will never leave him.
And this morning when I visited him at Universal Healthcare Partners he told me about his thought process during those moments of terror.
Christian Gusenbauer, Shooting Victim
"The thing that was also mentally, you know, I thought there should be a way that I can communicate, like you know take everything, don't leave as murderers leave as thieves. Take the things it doesn't matter but there was no approach. They only said come out, come out and I said I don't get out, I don't get out. So that's when they shot and shot and shot, you know trying to hit my head I could see it on the walls where they shot and this communication didn't work and I thought how can somebody do that? I am here, I don't want to harm you, you can have everything, my boat, the boat keys you can take everything it could be so easy just take the things and leave, why is it impossible to approach them? And that made me somehow also angry."
It's an anger that was spurred on by certainty of his impending death. And in that moment Gigi could only think of his children who had recently visited him on that very same island.
Christian Gusenbauer, Shooting Victim
"And it was just right now, you, it was January and it was the first time that everything was so cool and perfect because of the pandemic, you know, no guests, everything was just for us and we had so much fun and my children loved Belize and we talked a little bit about the dangers and no dangers but it was always this, it's called private heaven."
"That's why I wanted to call my kids for two reasons because we just had the best times in our lives, I was sure and sorry I will cry now, I was sure I was going to die and it was my main intention as long, sorry, as long as I can talk and as long as I didn't lose consciousness, I mean I don't get consciousness that I can call my children and Austria is 7 hours later."
And after the heartbreak and the terror, can he ever return:
Cherisse Halsall:
"So now how do you go back?"
Christian Gusenbauer, Shooting Victim
"I have no idea, I have no idea for the next few weeks I can't really move. I can already move, I can walk but it's still starting to bleed and I will need medical attention so I can't go right away back to the island."
"My own house is full of holes, everything is broken, everything is destroyed so that needs to be fixed first and change the setting so I how do you think, how could you ever go to bed again, I mean not with the same setting you need something like a fortress where you know you can go to bed and nobody can get inside your bedroom.I don't know what will happen, I really can't tell you. It is so sad but I really have to say this community, Placencia, all the guys, everybody even in Europe they tried to call the embassy. The reason that I posted on Facebook is that I don't have a cellphone connection out there and that everybody came together and helped and organized, this is for me, and with all these craziness that you know, there are only these few people that try to kill others. The majority of Belizeans are just like the biggest heart you can imagine. So I'm not in no way I am somehow mad at the country, no way. As bad as this was, as beautiful the other things are to see all this love and support and how everybody comes together."
Police have informed Guesenbauer that his stolen boat engine remains in the country but that it's likely being prepared for transport to Hounduras.