The Putt Putt shootings[i] were three allegedly connected and gang-related shootings in the predawn hours of 9 February 2008 in Belize City, Belize. The first shooting in Putt Putt Bar & Grill resulted in the death of 19 year old Deandra Zetina, and injuries to nine others. The second shooting on the Belcan Bridge left 17 year old Michelle Cattouse dead, and three or four others injured. The last shooting on Raccoon Street Extension left one injured. Four men were arrested and charged for the shootings, but Crown counsel secured a conviction only for the third one. The shootings are jointly deemed the first and worst mass shooting in the country's history.
Putt Putt Bar & Grill was a lively, open-air joint on Princess Margaret Drive in Newtown Barracks.[1] Neighbours had allegedly noticed an uptick in gun crime since its opening, with one later asserting "there [were] commonly gunshots in the morning in the neighborhood around Putt Putt", and another stating, "it is almost every weekend that we live basically in fear [of stray bullets]".[2] On 8 February 2008 (a Friday), Putt Putt was nevertheless bustling with patrons celebrating the previous day's general elections.[3]
Shootings
At circa 2:45 am CT on 9 February 2008, two shooters jumped the back fence and opened fire from the rear shrubbery of the crowded Putt Putt Bar & Grill, indiscriminately spraying at least 37 bullets.[4] Nine people were shot and injured, while 19 year old Deandra Zetina (St Michael's College fourth former) was shot and killed.[n 1] An on-duty policeman returned fire, prompting the shooters to flee.[5]
At circa 3 am on the Belcan Bridge, a group of four or five patrons en route home from Putt Putt were approached by a grey Toyota Camry from which a single shooter alighted and opened fire, killing 17 year old Michelle Cattouse (Nazarene High fourth former) and injuring three or four of her companions.[n 2]
At circa 4:15 am on Raccoon Street Extension, 16 year old Linton Broaster and two friends (also homebound from Putt Putt) were allegedly approached by Leroy Ramsey, who opened fire five times, injuring Broaster and missing his friends.[6]
Aftermath
All fifteen or sixteen injured victims were rushed to Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, where Zetina and Cattouse were pronounced dead.[n 3] By 11 February, four of the injured survivors remained hospitalised, with Broaster in serious but stable condition, and Edison Flowers and Vincent Galvez in critical condition.[7]
Police believed all three shootings were connected and related to an ongoing feud between two rival gangs.[8] They suspected the first shooting had been perpetrated by Back a Town gang members from St Martin de Porres, allegedly looking to hit some George Street gang members from Lake Independence who happened to be socialising at Putt Putt.[n 4] The second shooting was thought to be retaliation by the latter for the first shooting, as Cattouse and her three companions allegedly "were associates or were associated with" Back a Town.[n 5] The third shooting was likewise deemed retaliation by George Street, as Broaster and his two friends allegedly "were associated with" Back a Town and had had "a previous misunderstanding" earlier that night with Ramsey at Putt Putt.[9] Press further speculated that the first shooting had been a preemptive strike by Back a Town, given reports suggesting "a hit had been put out on" one of their affiliates.[2] Police suggested it may have been retaliation for the murder of Jason Munnings the weekend prior.[n 6] No criminal mastermind (who presumably ordered the hit on George Street, or alleged preemptive strike by Back a Town) was identified, prompting accusations of possible police or political corruption in the press.[10]
On 9 February, Jason King (29) and Charles Moss (35) were arrested and charged for the first shooting, and Roy Bennett (20; aka Roy Felix) for the second.[11] King and Moss had been chased by police to Jasmine Street from Putt Putt, where they were found with two 9 mm pistols, allegedly those used in Putt Putt.[12] Bennett had allegedly been identified from CCTV footage.[13] On 11 February, Leroy Ramsey (22) was arrested and charged for the third shooting.[14] He had allegedly been identified by Broaster.[13] The case against King and Moss was stuck out on 20 March 2009 when "the prosecutor failed to present the case file", though both were immediately rearrested on undisclosed charges.[n 7] The case against Bennett similarly fell apart on 1 June 2011 when Crown counsel Keisha Williams entered a nolle pros motion "because the witnesses who were crucial to the case [had] made themselves unavailable".[15] Ramsey was found guilty of two counts of attempted murder, and sentenced to eight years' prison on 26 April 2013.[16]
Despite neighbours' opposition, Putt Putt proprietor Orson Elrington renovated and reopened the bar and grill by late February, though their liquor licence was revoked due to noise complaints.[17]
Legacy
The shootings are deemed the firstand worst mass shooting in the country's history, often compared to the 2022 Hopkins mass shooting.[n 8]7 News called the shootings "the most outrageous and cold blooded assault this city has ever seen".[18]News 5 commented, "Belize City is no stranger to gang violence but in the wee hours of Saturday morning that cycle of murder and fatal retaliation reached a new level of insanity".[19]Amandala renewed calls for the death penalty,[20] adding, "for a city inured to the daily reports of violence in the streets, [the shootings] produced a level of violence never before seen in this violent city".[13] They likened the shootings to the May 2008 Mayflower grenade attack, deeming both "unprecedented mass attacks".[21]
The 2008 St Michael's pageant in April was dedicated to Zetina, whose seat had been left vacant as "a daily visual reminder of the scourge of street violence, which hit close to home for her classmates".[22] The shootings prompted local poet Proshka to pen Belizean Bloodshed.[23]
↑5 a; 7 e; A b. Zetina, an orphan and sickle cell anaemic, was on her first day back bartending after medical leave (7 e; 7 d). Her weekend job helped pay for school (7 e). Their family had prior lost a cousin to gun violence, "a little young boy, died the same way [as Zetina] and nobody know, nobody no talk, nobody no see" (7 e). Injured survivors included Philip Neal (17), Vincent Galvez (19), Marvin Robinson (27), Kenroy Tillett (29), Edison Flowers, Gilbert Pascacio, Christopher Galvez, Jermyn Galvez (5 a; 7 b; 7 d). The ninth injured survivor identified as Dale Moody by 5 a, though 7 d possibly identify them as Harry Joseph (18).
↑5 a; 7 b; 7 d; 7 e; A b; 7 i. Injured survivors included Delarose Puerto (17), Tarique Bowden (19), Cyril Jones (26) (5 a; 7 d). A fourth victim nonfatally injured per 7 f, 5 e, 7 i (but only three so injured per 5 a, A b), identified as Harry Joseph in 5 e and possibly in 7 d.
↑7 b. Fifteen (fatally and nonfatally) injured per 5 a, A g, 5 e; sixteen per 7 e, A b.
↑5 a; A b. These gangs had last been reported feuding in mid June 2007, with police brokering an "uneasy truce" on 20 June (7 k; 7 l; A i).
↑5 a; 7 b. Cattouse's family denied any gang affiliation (A b).
↑A b; A d. Munnings (29; BWS water meter reader) was shot and killed on 2 February in Belize City in an apparent hit, but family asserted he had been "a loving, carefree young man with no known enemies and no history of gang or criminal activities" (7 m; A j).
↑7 h; 5 d; A h. Case file (disclosure to the defence during the preliminary inquiry) not proferred despite thirteen adjournments for the Crown to do so since December 2008 (7 h; A h). Arrests made despite "there [being], technically and legally speaking, no papers to re-arrest the two accused men" (A h).
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