After the murder of 29-year-old Nicholas Morgan, one of his neighbours is appealing to people to turn away from a life of crime.
The 30-year-old woman, who admitted to having a criminal past, warned that violence and crime would lead them down a path to death or prison. She spoke with Guardian Media yesterday, after Morgan was shot dead at Rochard Road in Penal on Wednesday night.
Police said shortly after 10 pm, the security guard was at the back of the family house, where he often stayed, about to take a bath when a gunman approached. He tried to flee to safety but was shot multiple times. He collapsed and died at the scene.
Residents told police they saw a man standing over Morgan’s body with a flashlight or a phone light after hearing about 12 gunshots.
Police recovered seven spent 9 mm shell casings.
While the police had no motive for his killing, Morgan’s neighbour claimed he went astray and that may have cost him his life.
The woman recalled that five years ago, she was shot in her arm and chest in a bar, and had served a prison term for firearms and ammunition. She said she knew firsthand the effects of a life of crime.
“And for me, to the youths, gun violence and violence on the whole don’t make no sense. It will lead you, is either you reach in the jail, that is if you lucky, and if you not lucky is six feet or 12 feet under. So violence, it don’t make no sense.”
Lamenting that crime had seemingly become the norm for some, she said, “As a victim and somebody who come from poverty, I could understand you want money but it have people to assist you to go about the right way of doing things to get money.”
She also said she did not think the State of Emergency would put a dent in crime.
“Crime can’t done. People keep watching the little ones and feeling that is the little ones doing the crime but yeah them doing the crimes but is the big ones controlling the little ones to do the crimes sometimes,” she said.
Region 3 Homicide detectives are investigating.
