Saint Lucia recorded its 59th homicide, yesterday (Friday), when a male individual was shot in the Conway/Lower Darling Road area, adjacent to the Gros Islet mini-bus stand.
Reports indicate that the man identified as Jaleel Hunte, alias ‘Jelly Boy’, was shot in an alleyway as he disembarked from his vehicle. The assailant is reported to have then fled from the area and ran into the direction of Jn. Baptiste Street to make his escape.
Police cordoned off the area from Darling Road into Jn. Baptiste Street, causing motorists to use alternate routes to get to their destinations.
A police team was present in the area with the officers fully immersed in conducting their investigations, while the victim’s white motor car was left parked in the entrance to the alleyway.
The incident, which occurred at about 9.10 a.m. drew a steady crowd of onlookers, while residents from the adjoining CDC buildings peered down on the scene from their apartments.
The Saint Lucia Fire Service (SLFS) Communications Officer, Stacy Joseph, told the media responding to a call for assistance and arriving at the scene of the crime, the responding officers “found a young man appearing to be in his late twenties, on the scene in the presence of police officers. A rapid assessment of the victim revealed that he sustained a penetrating wound to his head and he was void of all vital signs. Due to obvious signs of death, the scene was left in the care of members of the police force.”
Traffic was brought to a standstill on Darling Road with vehicles on that road having to detour up Barnard Hill to get into the city centre.
An eye witness near the bus stand claimed he heard a flurry of gunshots “coming from across the road behind my back” and turning around “I saw the man running with a gun in his hand and there were bullet shells falling on the road.”
The crime scene was seen littered with spent shells as the police marked off exhibits in a detailed manner within the cordoned area.
Upwards to press time, police had not reported on apprehending any suspects leading into the investigations.