The shooter, deprived of his prey, shot “someone” in frustration

Ardon Belgrave 27, of Freetown Road, was murdered senselessly on Caesar Ridge Road at about 11:20 a.m. yesterday, Tuesday.

Reports are that Belgrave and six co-workers, who were carrying out road maintenance work in the Caesar Ridge area, were standing under an almond tree when a student who was being chased by a man ran into their midst for safety.

The gunman continued chasing his victim, witnesses say, but could not catch him.

The gunman then returned, reports say, and apparently, in anger, fired into the group, shooting Belgrave, who fell.

While the other men escaped, the gunman approached Belgrave and shot him multiple times at close range while he was lying on the road. The shooter then ran into the surrounding areas and disappeared. Belgrave was taken to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

Police say that Belgrave was shot in the back of the head, the forehead, the left hand, and the left buttocks.

Police said that their initial investigation revealed that the shooter was a man of dark complexion, dressed in a brown shirt and short blue jeans pants. They processed the scene and retrieved seven 9mm expended cases and a slug.

Belgrave’s father, Wallace Belgrave, told Amandala that he is devastated and his heart is heavy. He was at home about 11:40 a.m., he said, when a man came to his house on Freetown Road and told him that his son was dead.

He ignored the man, then told him to say it again. The man said that Belgrave, who lived in this house, pointing to the lower flat of his (Wallace Belgrave’s) house, where Ardon lived, is dead.

The grieving father said earlier that morning he made breakfast for his son before he went to work. He said that it is especially hard, because Ardon is the fourth person he has now lost, more so because it was senseless.

Wallace Belgrave said that Ardon was not into gangs and violence, and was productive. He said that Ardon’s twin sister Ardeth, died about 2 years ago; his elder brother, Wasani, died about 5 years ago; and his mother died about 7 years ago. He said that God will take his justice, because the shooter killed an innocent man.

A citizen told Amandala that she was travelling on her motorcycle on Caesar Ridge and passed six men standing under the almond tree when she heard multiple gunshots being fired. She sped away down Caesar Ridge Road, she said, and after the shooting subsided, she returned and saw a man on the pavement: he was already dead.

His sister said that she was at home and was setting food for Ardon and waiting for him to come for his dinner, when her phone rang and she was told that he has been killed. She rushed to the area, and saw him on the ground, and shortly after, he was picked up from off the pavement, put onto a stretcher and then into the pan of a police mobile and taken to the KHMH Morgue, where he was declared dead on arrival.

Ardon Belgrave is survived by his son, 3; his father, Wallace Belgrave; and 5 sisters, including Yvonne, Patricia, and Dorla. He is also survived by 7 brothers, including Kent, Ashton, Arthur, and Emilio, and many other relatives and friends.