Nursing student from Indiana is killed by a stray bullet while vacationing in Belize
Two men in Belize are facing murder charges after a stray bullet struck and killed an American tourist on vacation with family, authorities said.
J’Bria Michelle Bowens, 23, from Indianapolis, was visiting San Pedro, Belize, with family Friday, Dec. 30, when a gunman opened fire at the town’s Central Park, local outlet 7 News Belize reported, citing police.
Bowens was sitting on the back of a golf cart with her family near the park and outside Jaguars Night Club just before the shooting, police told The San Pedro Sun.
A gunman began shooting “indiscriminately” at a group near the nightclub, firing an assault rifle into the crowd, Belize’s Commissioner of Police Chester Williams told 7 News Belize. A stray bullet struck Bowens.
Bowens was rushed to a hospital where she was pronounced dead, WVUE reported.
Police have arrested two men in connection with the shooting and charged them with murder, according to the Associated Press. Authorities are still looking for a third person, the San Pedro Sun reported.
Bowens was a nursing student at Louisiana State University in New Orleans, according to her Facebook page. She graduated from Xavier University in May and was visiting Belize to celebrate a birthday, WVUE reported.
The Belize Government released a statement Dec. 31 saying, “as a nation we are profoundly saddened by the killing of tourist J’Bria Michelle Bowens which occurred in San Pedro on Friday night. We join in the grief and sorrow which has rocked not only her family, but the entire peaceful community and nation.”
The U.S. Embassy in Belize also confirmed the death of a U.S. citizen Jan. 1, saying it was “closely monitoring the local authority’s investigation.”
San Pedro is located on Ambergris Caye island in northern Belize, about 85 miles northeast of Belmopan, the country’s capital.
This story was originally published January 3, 2023 at 10:03 AM with the headline "Nursing student from Indiana is killed by a stray bullet while vacationing in Belize."
