3 weeks ago
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Just about twenty-four hours before Belize welcomed its first baby of 2026, deadly violence struck Belize City on New Year’s Eve. Shortly after 6 p.m. on Wednesday, 45-year-old Ian Arthurs was fatally shot at the corner of Kraal Road and Faber’s Road. Police say that at approximately 6:19 p.m., they received reports of shots fired in the area. Officers from CIB Precinct One responded and later proceeded to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, where they found 26-year-old Sherelene Butler being treated for gunshot injuries. Butler identified the deceased as her uncle, Ian Arthurs, who was pronounced dead at 6:32 p.m. by medical personnel. Initial investigations reveal that Arthurs was driving a white Ford F-150 pickup truck, without license plates, along Faber’s Road and had stopped to drop off his niece at the intersection with Kraal Road. At that point, police say an unknown gunman on a motorcycle approached from the direction of C.A. Boulevard and opened fire toward the driver’s side of the vehicle, fatally injuring Arthurs and wounding Butler. Speaking emotionally, Sheryl Arthurs said she had earlier warned her daughter, Sherelene Butler, to avoid the area, expressing concern that violent incidents tend to occur around the New Year period along that stretch of road.
Sheryl Arthurs, Eldest Sister of Ina Arthurs: “After six she said she was going home and I mentioned to her don’t walk the back street because Waight Street it’s like a curse is on that street when it comes to New Year’s Eve. So I asked her not to walk that direction and to go straight Rivero. She apparently Ian was out here in a vehicle and Ian told her let me take you home and they went and they turned the very street that I mentioned not to go but they were in a vehicle so I guess it seemed harmless to her at that point and when they got off Waight Street and as they turned but the problem is with the firecrackers and the dynamite because sometimes you can’t tell the difference between gunshots and those things and I believe when they heard it they thought it was firecrackers until she got the burning then she realized that she was shot and as she was exiting the vehicle she felt the burning and she looked back to tell her uncle that she got shot and he was crouched in the vehicle already so I believe he already received. Apparently the gunman pulled up on a cycle, I’m not sure, I cannot say, I don’t know if it was on a cycle, in a vehicle or on foot I don’t know I was not there. And because of the state she’s in I don’t believe she exactly knew. She felt the burning.”
Scenes of Crime personnel processed the scene at Faber’s and Kraal Roads, where several expended 9-millimetre shell casings were recovered. ASP Stacy Smith spoke on the findings into the investigation indicating that Arthurs had an active matter before the courts related to gang affiliation for which he was arrested and charged in June 2024.
Stacy Smith, Assistant Superintendent of Police: “What the investigation has disclosed so far is that Arthurs was driving a pickup truck when upon reaching the corner of Kraal Road and Farbers Road, he was fired upon, that truck was fired upon by a male person who was onboard a motorcycle resulting in the injury of Miss Butler and the demise of Mr. Arthurs. And we have certainly regarded this shooting resulted in the death of Mr. Arthurs as a gang related incident. I will also say that Mr. Arthurs at the time of his demise was before the court, had a matter before the court in related to being the member of a gang and he has also been convicted in the past for possession of prohibited firearm. Police investigation continues.”
According to the sister, there is no truth to Ian being affiliated with any gang. She says the labeling and profiling that the Police do creates bad reputations for people, including Ian.
Reporter: What does this loss say to the family ?
Sheryl Arthurs, Eldest Sister of Ina Arthurs: “This is the question I can’t answer. I can’t. I literally can’t because I don’t know how we will make it. We were everything. The three of us were everything. Everything was just us, everyone that knows us knows it’s just us from we were small. My dad died, mom died, everybody it was just us three hence the reason my kids they stick on to them, his kids stick on to me because it’s just us. We always said it’s only each other we have. They tore us apart. What I can tell you about my brother is that Ian was no gang member and I will stick to that and everyone how knows Ian knows Ian is a friendly person, a jovial person, he likes dancing, likes karaoke. I an is a hustler, a street hustler and because of that you will associate with different people and maybe because of that reasons people would say Ian is this or he’s linked with that one or the other. To be honest the people they are saying they’re not really bad people like that but you know people label people and I will tell you the police department is the main one that labels people because they say people are gang members and really and truly to me they don’t know who is a gang member and when they don’t know what that does to people then people stigmatize against people, think like oh they’re gang people and they label you and treat them differently. But nobody treated my brother differently because everybody knows us and know that it’s me and my two brothers and we are loving people and our family is the Arthurs and we are not problem people. I will tell you my brother was never that and everybody that knew him would tell you the same thing. If you check the comments on Facebook not one single person discriminated and said oh he was this or that. Everybody is like we don’t know him as any gang member he was our old classmate, cool guy, friendly guy, party guy, if you want to put it he liked women but that was it. He was never a problem man, he never killed anybody so to be very honest I feel like even the person that killed Ian is sorry, they already sorry because they realized they killed the wrong person.”
The body of Ian Arthurs remains at the KHMH morgue, where a post-mortem examination is pending. Police say investigations are ongoing and are urging anyone with information to assist them to contact the nearest police station.
English (US) ·