Travis Polanco, An Unnecessary End to a Young Life

BELIZE'S NEWS 5 REPORT

Six years old Travis Polanco passed away yesterday after he was taken off life support earlier in the afternoon. Travis was shot in the head on Thursday evening last week by another minor in Valley Community. He had been on life support ever since because he was hit five times. Doctors were unable to remove a few of the pellets from his brain because of swelling.

According to Travis’ father, Thomas Polanco, the sixteen-gauge shotgun used in the shooting by the year old, is the weapon utilized by the minor’s family for hunting.  Police have since questioned the parents of the boy who pulled the trigger and they have been released. Now, the nine year old is under the age of criminal liability and then there is the other matter to determine if his parents are negligent for leaving the weapon unsecured in the house and in the reach of a child.  Still, Polanco says there is need for parents to exercise caution.