St Vincent and the Grenadines records 6 murders in less than a week, sparking concerns

St Vincent and the Grenadines has recorded six murders in a span of less than a week, raising huge concerns for the government and the police authorities.

It is reported that the body of an adult, which has not yet been identified, was found in a pool of blood at a residence in Burgin, Lowmans Leeward, on Thursday, October 3, marking the latest murder of this week. The police said that this body was found with multiple chop wounds.

A 54-year-old woman described the killings as ‘blood touching blood’ and said that it is not normal.

The police further reported that the body of an adult male was found with bullet wounds on October 2 near the side of the road in Gibson Corner. He has been identified as Xavier Browne, who is a resident of Chateaubelair. 

The killings also included one of a teenager who was identified as 13-year-old Matthew Da Souza. According to the information, his dead body was found on the beach in Sion Hill Bay on September 30, 2024. They found Da Sourza’s naked body from the waist down, with injuries to his head. 

After a post-mortem investigation on October 2, it was confirmed that Da Souza had drowned because of a consequence of blunt head trauma. 

On Friday, September 27, Stanran Stapleton, hailing from Rose Hall, was also fatally shot in Petit Bordel. 

On September 29 also, police got a report of a fatal shooting that took place in Petit Bordel in the morning of Sunday at around 2 am, following which they found the dead body of Othnell Lavia, a farmer from Petit Bordel, aged 37, with several gunshot wounds.

On the other hand, a 34-year-old female, Elijah Crease, from Calliaqua, died on September 29 as a result of a stabbing incident. 

All these incidents occurred within less than a week has sent shockwaves across St Vincent and the Grenadines with residents urging the officials to come up with better security protocols.