by Kevon Browne
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a well-known local businessman, Alden Maynard, better known as ‘OJ’, on F T Williams Highway on June 6 around 7 a.m.
The authorities have yet to provide no further details on the homicide.
WINN was made aware that friends and family of OJ were on the scene and identified the body.
The murder of the local businessman comes just one day after the Federation recorded another double homicide on June 5.
Vishawn Matthew, 20, of Taylor’sVillage and Kay Johnson-Bellile, 43, of Wades Garden, were shot at by assailant(s) in a vehicle while the two were seated on the side of the road. The assailant(s) fled the area. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.
Opposition Leader in the National Assembly, Hon. Mark Brantley, said: “14 homicides already by June 2023 suggests that we are on a most dangerous and destabilising path”.
However, the Nevis Premier did not lay the blame at the feet of the government for the spike in violent crimes seen in 2023.
“It is an approach which has yielded and continues to yield no benefit. Harsh lessons of the past should teach us that seeking to politicise crime does nothing but embolden the criminals while diverting critical attention away from finding solutions. This is not to suggest that the Government should not take responsibility, for at the end of the day, it is the Government which must implement the necessary policy prescriptions to solve this problem.”
The Federal Opposition Leader called on the Prime Minister, the Hon. Dr Terrance Drew, to convene a symposium with relevant stakeholders – Government, the Church, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Security Forces, community groups and the Opposition both in St. Kitts and in Nevis to tackle the issues of crime.
The Federation has recorded 15 murders for 2023 as of June 6, already surpassing 2022, which recorded 12 murders for that year.
