Murder rate climbs to 74

KEVIN ALEXANDER, a 25-year-old Laventille man was shot seven times while at his Rudolph Charles Link Road, Laventille, home around 11 pm on Sunday night, but his bullet-riddled body was only discovered around 6.30 am yesterday.

His murder brings to 74, the number killed for the year, 25 more than for the same period last year when 49 persons were murdered. Reports revealed that on Sunday afternoon, Alexander was confronted by a man armed with a gun and known to him, who accused him of shooting a man at the Community Centre in Laventille. The man threatened to return to the house and kill anyone he saw. Keisha Alexander, the 22-year-old sister of the dead man, said that her brother was the father of a two-month-old girl whom he had never seen and his girlfriend is now pregnant with his child. The distraught woman claimed that her brother was the caretaker of the house where the fatal shooting took place. She added that around 11pm when the seven shots were heard at the house, everyone became afraid and stayed indoors. Around 6.30 am yesterday, a check was made by Sheldon Alexander who discovered the body.

Officers of the Besson Street Police Station were contacted and well as a district medical officer. The body was ordered removed to the Forensic Sciences Centre. An initial examination of the body by the DMO revealed that one of the bullets entered Alexander’s heart and killed him instantly. The sister of the dead man said that her brother was not a bandit, but she admitted that he sold weed to earn a living. She added that her brother was a difficult person who often had arguments with persons of questionable character. Police investigators told Newsday that they have issued a warrant for the arrest of the suspected killer. Newsday learned that Alexander was a suspect in several murders and robberies. An autopsy will be carried out today.