Seventeen-year-old Kaylon David was the heart of his family and the brother they counted on for protection. But tonight, his loved ones are mourning the teenager who was shot and killed just a short distance from their Belize City home. Police say Kaylon was walking along Iguana Street Extension on Thursday evening when a gunman opened fire. As investigators search for his killer, Kaylon’s family is struggling to understand why he will never walk through their door again.
Shane Williams, Reporting
Seventeen-year-old Kaylon David was his family’s protector and the life of their home. On Thursday evening, a gunman shot him on Iguana Street Extension, just steps away from that home. Kaylon died later at the hospital, leaving his family devastated.
Hilberto Romero
ACP Hilberto Romero, Head, National Crimes Investigation Branch
“He was taken for treatment at the hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries. Information is that he was walking on Iguana Street when he was approached by a male person who fired several shots towards his direction, causing his fatal injuries. We are reviewing video footage and we have one suspect in custody in regards to this murder.”
Less than one hundred yards from where gunfire ended Kaylon’s life, his relatives gathered in disbelief. His older sister, Kensasha David, struggled through tears as she described the sudden silence now hanging over the family’s home. Kaylon had turned seventeen only months earlier. Now, instead of looking forward to another family birthday, Kensasha is mourning the younger brother she repeatedly warned to stay safe.
Voice of: Kensasha David, Sister of Deceased
“Kaylon da mi love. Kaylon da mi the life of the party. We just left ya. We home will never be the same again. They killed my brother. My ma cry whole night. Whole night my ma cry. This hurt we. I tell my brother say, ‘Kaylon keep from down so.’ I tell ah, ‘Kaylon keep from down soh because you done know they noh like we Kaylon.’ I tell ah.”
Shane Williams
“And he was just seventeen.”
Kensasha David
““My brother mi seventeen. He just turned seventeen May weh gone. My birthday the come. Nothing noh wah feel the same again. My brother noh de ya.”
Shane Williams
“So what happened? Where was he going?”
Kensasha David
“Sir, I don’t know. I mi deh da work when I hear the news.”
Police believe the murder grew out of an ongoing conflict involving young men in the area. Investigators say Kaylon and others had exchanged threats, but they have not disclosed what started the dispute. Officers are now maintaining a presence in the neighborhood as they try to prevent another act of violence.
Reporter
“Any motive?”
ACP Hilberto Romero
“Some conflict he have with other persons in that area.”
Reporter
“Would you be able to say what kind of conflict?”
ACP Hilberto Romero
“Some issues that they had threatened each other.”
But the police response brought another painful moment for relatives and friends already overwhelmed by Kaylon’s death. Shortly after the family learned that he had died, officers detained one of his friends, who had been grieving alongside them. Kensasha says watching police take him away deepened the family’s distress at an already devastating moment.
Voice of: Kensasha David
“The police they just come when we the mourn. We the grieve. The police them come, talk bout they the look for some wanted man. You know, they ker my brother friend. He mi deh right ya soh the cry with we. The police them come. Like that just broke we down.”
Shane Williams
“This was after your brother was killed?”
Kensasha David
“Yes, sir. When we meh find out how he meh dead because they mih got ah pan machine and then like he just give up.”
Police say Kaylon had no criminal record. His family does not want his final moments to define the seventeen years that came before them. They want people to remember the teenager they knew: the lively younger brother who filled their home with energy and stood up for the people he loved.
Shane Williams
“What are some of the things you remember most about him?”
Kensasha David
“Kaylon. Kaylon mi like, Kaylon da mi love. Kaylon mi always protect we.”
Police have detained one suspect and continue to review surveillance footage as they pursue additional leads. For Kaylon’s family, however, the investigation cannot restore the laughter, love and sense of protection they say disappeared when the seventeen-year-old was killed. Shane Williams for News Five.
Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.
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