3 weeks ago
4
Senior Reporter
Bullet holes now scar the side of a Penal home after gunfire erupted outside a bar on Monday night, killing 38-year-old construction worker Kyle Belmontes and leaving his family in mourning.
Belmontes, a father of three, was sitting under a shed in the carpark of Hangover Restaurant and Bar on Penal Rock Road, when a gunman opened fire. Around 11.54 pm, patrons reported hearing multiple explosions outside the popular venue.
Officers from the Penal Police Station arrived shortly after midnight and found Belmontes dead in a drain on the compound. Crime Scene Investigators recovered 21 spent 5.56 shell casings, five live 9mm rounds, and one projectile at the scene.
Officers learned that Belmontes was last seen enjoying a meal of KFC on the compound moments before the attack. It appeared he attempted to run to the side of the building, but the gunman followed and continued shooting.
Belmontes lived nearby on Smart Avenue. His death has shaken his community and devastated his family, many of whom live abroad.
At her home in Penal yesterday, his aunt, Patricia Daniel, shed tears as she recalled the call that changed their lives.
“He went out, and he was sitting down there, and they came and shot him.” She said police didn’t allow any of the family to get close to the body.
Daniel said no one had ever shot at him before, and as far as she knew, he had not been threatened. He had been living his life as usual.
“I just wish we could get some kind of closure in the sense of why it happened, what happened, and who did it. But they (police) are investigating, so let us hope for the best.”
She said Belmontes’ mother, Gillian Belmontes, who lives in the United States, was struggling to cope with the news.
“She is not doing well at all,” Daniel said.
Calling for an end to violence, Daniel made an emotional appeal to young people to choose different paths when dealing with conflict.
“Young people need to find different ways to solve the situations, to figure it out. We grew up fighting and falling out with each other, and the next day, we would kick a ball together, play netball together. This is nothing—being vexed with each other for whatever reason—but you all could work it out. There must be a different way to work things out.”
She said Belmontes loved his family deeply and, despite any disagreements, would always show affection.
The Homicide Bureau of Investigations (Region Three) is continuing enquiries. No suspect has been identified, and the motive remains unclear.
English (US) ·