Altavea Billingy, Keron Hadaway and Perlinea Greaves
Three persons were killed in six days on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which recently assumed CELAC president.
The killings resulted in the deaths of two women and one male.
Altavea Billingy, a caretaker at Chester Cottage who was 28 years old, was stabbed multiple times by her ex-boyfriend in Kingstown on February 4. She died soon after from her injuries.
Keron Hadaway, a 28-year-old Edinboro conductor, died after being shot on February 7.
Reports indicate that Hadaway and the driver of an omnibus were approached by some unknown assailant(s), who opened fire on the said vehicle. In the process, the deceased and the driver sustained injuries. Hadaway succumbed to his injuries, and the driver was taken to the hospital for medical attention.
On February 9, at around 8:30 p.m., an unknown assailant approached Perlinea Greaves of Upper Dorsetshire in Dorsetshire Hill and shot her in the head.
Earlier today, Greaves was listed as being in critical condition and in an unresponsive state. She succumbed hours later.
As the gun violence continues, the island’s main opposition party (NDP) is calling on the government to work with them in finding solutions. On Wednesday, opposition MP St. Clair Leacock said the administration needs to seek regional and international help to combat the rising level of gun violence.
Authorities in St. Vincent say the increase in the murder rate is primarily the result of young people falling in love with the gun culture and the cocaine trade.
After being in power for more than 20 years, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said on WEFM, a privately owned radio station, on December 18, 2022, that governments didn’t have the “magic bullet” to stop crime.
