Woman Shot During Land Dispute in Lemonal

Police are investigating a shooting incident that left a Belize City woman hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the leg following a confrontation over a parcel of land in Lemonal Village, Belize District.  According to investigators, the incident occurred shortly before two o’clock this afternoon while a bulldozer operator was reportedly clearing a piece of land in the area. Initial reports are that thirty-three-year-old Stacey Middleton, a call center agent of South Creek Street in Belize City, along with two other women, approached the bulldozer and demanded that the operator stop pushing the land.  Police say that during the confrontation, the operator, identified as fifty-four-year-old Rupert Alexander Gentle of Georgeville, Cayo District, allegedly pulled out a licensed firearm and pointed it at the women before firing a single shot. Middleton was struck to her right leg.  Ladyville CIB personnel responded to the scene where they processed the area and recorded statements. Police also recovered a licensed black and chrome Smith and Wesson nine-millimeter pistol along with a magazine containing fifteen live rounds.  Gentle has since been detained pending investigation. We will have more on this story in tomorrow’s news.