Off-Duty BDF (Belize Defense Force) Soldier Shot Dead By On-Duty Mask Enforcers

Belize -- In the village of Santa Familia in the Cayo District is outraged and mourning a well-known and well-liked villager who was shot and killed by one of his fellow BDF soldiers. He’s 29-year-old Private Jessie Escobar, who has served in the military for over 8 years.
Last night at around 7:00, he, his common-law wife, their young daughter, and 2 friends went to the Branch Mouth Stop and Shop Store. While they were there, an inter-agency team from the Village Police Station, which consisted of 2 BDF soldiers and a police officer, was conducting evening patrols in the village. It is unclear why the two sides ended up in a heated dispute, but the police account is that one of Escobar’s friends wasn’t wearing his mask properly.
Escobar reportedly advanced the joint patrol with a pint bottle and the officer on the scene tried to fire a warning shot, but his weapon jammed. Escobar then reportedly got into a struggle with one of the BDF support personnel . Escobar ended up being fatally shot.
The killing of Jessie Escobar on Sunday night was captured by surveillance cameras as it unfolded in front of Branch Mouth Stop and Shop Store in Santa Familia Village. As he approached the B.D.F. soldier with a cup in his hand, a single shot was fired from Private Valencia’s long-arm rifle which caught Escobar in the left chest. Escobar died on the spot as the other lawmen forced Escobar’s companions to the ground. The incident occurred in front of Escobar’s wife and their two-year-old daughter. Today, attorney Oscar Selgado did not comment on the contents of the video but says that it doesn’t become evidence until it is tendered in court.