An early morning police operation on Northern Ambergris Caye led to one person being injured and two detained. The injured person has been identified as 24 year old Steven Bowen Jr. Sometime between the hours of 8AM and 9AM, August 7th a special maneuver involving members of the Belize Coast Guard, the Belize Special Assignment Group (BSAG ) – an arm of the Belize Defense Force, led by San Pedro Police was dispatched to northern Ambergris Caye following several reports.
The team’s main goal was to disband a hostile environment in the area after San Pedro police received numerous reports and complaints of a group of about 10 armed individuals terrorizing North Ambergris Caye residents.
Reports of assault with the use of a gun, armed robberies, burglaries and the sale of drugs are just a few of the many crimes that had been reported to the authorities. With the objective to follow their mission, to protect and serve the residents of Ambergris Caye, San Pedro police organized this special operation within the stretch of land located nine miles north of San Pedro town on Ambergris Caye.
Somewhere nine miles north of San Pedro Town, police came across three
men, one of whom charged at the law enforcement group with a machete. Fearing for their lives, one of the law enforcement officers fired at the individual. As a result Steven Bowen Jr., boat captain of San Juan area in San Pedro Town was shot once to his left side. Bowen was transported to the Dr. Otto Rodriguez San Pedro Poly Clinic II and subsequently airlifted to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital in Belize City with a police escort. Bowen is in stable condition.
During a search of the three individuals police found three separate amounts of drugs, all amounting to 159.1 grams of marijuana. As a result the two males detained remain with the police. They have been identified as 22 year old Elias Hernandez of a San Martin area of Belmopan City and 22 year old Lucio Salazar of San Juan area of San Pedro Town. All three are expected to be charged by San Pedro Police on drug and assault related charges. San Pedro police continue to follow other reports and the operation will remain in effect until the area is safe for island residents to resume normal life.
