At approximately 2:50 pm on Friday May 24th, police officers attached to the Marchand Police Station responded to reports of a shooting which occurred in Bagatelle, Castries. Police discovered that a man had been shot while riding a motorcycle through the community. An eyewitness reported that the rider, after falling off the motorcycle, stumbled into the trees of a nearby property where he collapsed.
The individual was shortly after conveyed to hospital via ambulance where he succumbed to his injuries. He was later identified as Shawn Joseph of Ti Rocher, Castries. The demise of Shawn Joseph has shocked members of both the communities of Ti Rocher and Bagatelle. Police are currently investigating this latest homicide. So far, no arrests have been made. Barely halfway through the year, Shawn Joseph is the island’s 17th homicide victim for 2019.
The homicide rate continues to rise amidst Government’s plans to promote Citizen Safety by achieving a forty-five percent reduction in serious crimes. These plans were announced in the Prime Minister’s 2019/2020 Budget address. Public concern also continues to rise over the involvement of teenagers in gun related incidents. While the public is calling on the police to apply greater effort in the fight against crime, the police themselves are being confronted by pressure from various members of the public over the May 22nd shooting death of 17-year-old student, Arnold Joseph.
The surnames of the latest shooting victims, Arnold Joseph and Shawn Joseph are purely coincidental in this matter, as there is no known relation between the two. Investigations into the circumstances of their deaths continue.