Uncle Metro’s son killed

Shooting continues to be the leading form of homicide in St Vincent and the Grenadines, and last Saturday morning 42-year-old Edgerton Richards Jr., of Brighton, succumbed to a gunshot wound he suffered at Keartons, Barrouallie, at about 7:15 am that same day.{{more}} He became the fourth victim to die by shooting in this country for the year.

Eyewitnesses told SEARCHLIGHT that Richards arrived in Keartons and entered the grocery shop and bar owned by 65-year-old Alban “Indian” Thomas. According to reports, the two had an exchange of words, following which, Thomas ran out of the shop.

Reports indicate that after Thomas left the shop, drinks were taken from the shop’s cooler and distributed to persons passing by. Some bottles were reportedly also broken on the floor.

Eyewitnesses told Searchlight that after Thomas returned with his three sons, Richards, who was already outside the shop, was shot. After he fell, he was driven to the Barrouallie clinic where he later died.

After the police arrived on the scene, Thomas was taken to the Barrouallie police station. He also reportedly handed over a Winchester rifle to the police.

Around midday on Saturday, Thomas was brought back to the scene where crime scene technicians and officers from the Major Crimes Unit (MCU) were conducting their investigations in the presence of Justice of the Peace Patrick DaSilva.

SEARCHLIGHT understands that the previous evening, Richards had gone to Thomas’s home upstairs the shop demanding money which he said Thomas owed him.

Richards was the son of the late Edgerton “Uncle Metro” Richards, founder of Metrocint General Insurance Company Ltd and proprietor of the Vincentian newspaper, and his wife Noreen Richards.

A post mortem was performed on Monday. At press time, investigations were still ongoing, and no one had been charged.