<p><strong style="font-size:13px;"><a rel="nofollow" class="highslide" target="_blank" href="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/St.-Martins-Robbery0007.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-95412" title="St. Martin's Robbery0007" src="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/St.-Martins-Robbery0007-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225"/></a>In this newscast, we often report on armed robberies, but a brazen armed attack on a priest on Sunday night, is a new level of crime. A pair of criminals attacked the Saint Martin de Porres priest, Father Brian Christopher as he walked from the church to the rectory. The priest was carrying the collection of Sunday night’s service when he was pounced upon by the two gunmen who were lay-waiting him. It is the third time that the church has been targeted, but the first time that a priest has been attacked and robbed at gunpoint at Saint Martin’s. The first time the parish was burglarized was back in September 2011 and then again on February sixteenth, 2012. While back in 2012 incident, Father Christopher as able to ward off his attacker, on Sunday night, the priest, who is considered to be in good shape, was not so lucky. News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports.</strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Isani Cayetano, Reporting</strong></p>
<p>St. Martin’s de Porres Parish, a pillar in the namesake community since 1968, was desecrated by a pair of armed robbers on Sunday night, shortly after celebrating St. Valentine’s Mass. The congregation had already waned noticeably, only a few worshipers hanging around outside the church, when two men pounced on the unsuspecting priest. Father Brian Christopher has been the main celebrant here, officiating services at the church for the past three years.</p>
<p> </p>
<div id="attachment_95415" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width:160px;"><a rel="nofollow" class="highslide" target="_blank" href="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/St.-Martins-Robbery0003.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-95415" title="Brian Christopher" src="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/St.-Martins-Robbery0003-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150"/></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Brian Christopher</p></div>
<p><strong>Father Brian Christopher, Parish Priest, St. Martin’s Church</strong></p>
<p><em>“It was about twenty minutes to nine and some of the parishioners were still lingering around out front and we were cleaning up. I had the collection basket from the church and I was walking from the church door, fifty feet [or] whatever it is to the parish office.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lying in wait just outside a nearby gate were his attackers. While he had noticed the duo moments earlier, Father Brian thought nothing of them, thinking instead that they too were members of his flock.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong><a rel="nofollow" class="highslide" target="_blank" href="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/St.-Martins-Robbery0006.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-95417" title="St. Martin's Robbery0006" src="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/St.-Martins-Robbery0006-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150"/></a>Father Brian Christopher</strong></p>
<p><em>“Just as I got to the door there was a hand that came in, I don’t know [from] where, it just smacked the basket out of my hand and I turned around and he had a gun. So I just started screaming, “Take the money! Leave us alone! Take the money and go!” Over the next, I don’t know how long it took, maybe thirty seconds, thirty-five seconds, he and his friend were on the ground picking up as much money as they could but also waving his gun around telling everybody to get back.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Together they would make off with a little under a thousand dollars in cash and checks, tithes which had been voluntarily contributed to the church. This is the third occurrence since the Jesuit priest began his ministry at the parish. The previous incidents were break-ins at the rectory. Last night’s attack, however, is a new low.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Father Brian Christopher<a rel="nofollow" class="highslide" target="_blank" href="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/St.-Martins-Robbery0005.jpg"><img class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-95413" title="St. Martin's Robbery0005" src="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/St.-Martins-Robbery0005-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150"/></a></strong></p>
<p><em>“It’s shocking when somebody robs the church and when people threaten other human beings’ lives with a gun for a thousand dollars in cash. Desperate people do desperate things but you know what, people have been saying all day, “How could they? This is the church. It’s sacred ground.” And I get that but, you know, this happens every day in people’s homes which is also sacred ground and this kind of victimization happens every day to people who are good people made in the image and the likeness of God. So this is just one piece of what’s been going on each and every day for however many years.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>The collection was to be used for a number of purposes, including the payment of salaries and other community outreach programs. Its theft will affect those social initiatives.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong><a rel="nofollow" class="highslide" target="_blank" href="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/St.-Martins-Robbery0001.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-95416" title="St. Martin's Robbery0001" src="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/St.-Martins-Robbery0001-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150"/></a>Father Brian Christopher</strong></p>
<p><em>“We use the money here at the primary school. We have seven hundred lee pickney here at the school and so whatever we can do to provide services for them, so we have a literacy program here at the school. We pay teachers’ salaries out of that money. We pay for the upkeep of the grounds with that money to keep this place beautiful. But, you know, the money here that we get here at the parish also goes to support the St. Vincent de Paul Society which does outreach to the most indigent. So [that’s] usually food and clothes.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>A police investigation into the robbery remains ongoing. No arrests have been made. Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Up to news time this evening, there have been no arrests in the outrageous robbery of the parish priest. </strong></p>
View the full article
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Isani Cayetano, Reporting</strong></p>
<p>St. Martin’s de Porres Parish, a pillar in the namesake community since 1968, was desecrated by a pair of armed robbers on Sunday night, shortly after celebrating St. Valentine’s Mass. The congregation had already waned noticeably, only a few worshipers hanging around outside the church, when two men pounced on the unsuspecting priest. Father Brian Christopher has been the main celebrant here, officiating services at the church for the past three years.</p>
<p> </p>
<div id="attachment_95415" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width:160px;"><a rel="nofollow" class="highslide" target="_blank" href="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/St.-Martins-Robbery0003.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-95415" title="Brian Christopher" src="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/St.-Martins-Robbery0003-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150"/></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Brian Christopher</p></div>
<p><strong>Father Brian Christopher, Parish Priest, St. Martin’s Church</strong></p>
<p><em>“It was about twenty minutes to nine and some of the parishioners were still lingering around out front and we were cleaning up. I had the collection basket from the church and I was walking from the church door, fifty feet [or] whatever it is to the parish office.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lying in wait just outside a nearby gate were his attackers. While he had noticed the duo moments earlier, Father Brian thought nothing of them, thinking instead that they too were members of his flock.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong><a rel="nofollow" class="highslide" target="_blank" href="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/St.-Martins-Robbery0006.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-95417" title="St. Martin's Robbery0006" src="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/St.-Martins-Robbery0006-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150"/></a>Father Brian Christopher</strong></p>
<p><em>“Just as I got to the door there was a hand that came in, I don’t know [from] where, it just smacked the basket out of my hand and I turned around and he had a gun. So I just started screaming, “Take the money! Leave us alone! Take the money and go!” Over the next, I don’t know how long it took, maybe thirty seconds, thirty-five seconds, he and his friend were on the ground picking up as much money as they could but also waving his gun around telling everybody to get back.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Together they would make off with a little under a thousand dollars in cash and checks, tithes which had been voluntarily contributed to the church. This is the third occurrence since the Jesuit priest began his ministry at the parish. The previous incidents were break-ins at the rectory. Last night’s attack, however, is a new low.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Father Brian Christopher<a rel="nofollow" class="highslide" target="_blank" href="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/St.-Martins-Robbery0005.jpg"><img class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-95413" title="St. Martin's Robbery0005" src="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/St.-Martins-Robbery0005-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150"/></a></strong></p>
<p><em>“It’s shocking when somebody robs the church and when people threaten other human beings’ lives with a gun for a thousand dollars in cash. Desperate people do desperate things but you know what, people have been saying all day, “How could they? This is the church. It’s sacred ground.” And I get that but, you know, this happens every day in people’s homes which is also sacred ground and this kind of victimization happens every day to people who are good people made in the image and the likeness of God. So this is just one piece of what’s been going on each and every day for however many years.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>The collection was to be used for a number of purposes, including the payment of salaries and other community outreach programs. Its theft will affect those social initiatives.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong><a rel="nofollow" class="highslide" target="_blank" href="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/St.-Martins-Robbery0001.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-95416" title="St. Martin's Robbery0001" src="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/St.-Martins-Robbery0001-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150"/></a>Father Brian Christopher</strong></p>
<p><em>“We use the money here at the primary school. We have seven hundred lee pickney here at the school and so whatever we can do to provide services for them, so we have a literacy program here at the school. We pay teachers’ salaries out of that money. We pay for the upkeep of the grounds with that money to keep this place beautiful. But, you know, the money here that we get here at the parish also goes to support the St. Vincent de Paul Society which does outreach to the most indigent. So [that’s] usually food and clothes.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>A police investigation into the robbery remains ongoing. No arrests have been made. Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Up to news time this evening, there have been no arrests in the outrageous robbery of the parish priest. </strong></p>
View the full article