Family ‘need answers for us to start to heal’
FAMILY OF SHOOTING VICTIM WANTS PEOPLE TO SPEAK OUT
RELATIVES of 20-year-old Alexander Kareem, who was shot dead in Shepherd’s Bush, are angry his killer is being protected from the consequences of their “hideous and unspeakable crime” through the silence of the public.
The family are urging anyone with information on the attacker to come forward and “protect them no longer”.
Mr Kareem had left a shop and was heading to a friend’s house along Askew Road at 12.40am on Monday, June 8 last year when he was shot and killed in what is believed to be a case of mistaken identity.
Seven months on, the attacker has still not been identified.
Mr Kareem’s family are begging anyone with any information to speak to police.
“We need answers for us to start to heal,” his relatives said in a statement released through the Met Police.
“The perpetrators are using the silence of the public as protection against the consequences of their hideous and unspeakable crime.
“Please, protect them no longer. Pick up the phone and do the right thing for Alexander, his friends and for us, his family.”
The Met Police have reissued CCTV footage of a white Range Rover which was found burned out in Ascott Avenue just 25 minutes after the first call to police.
Officers have trawled other CCTV footage to track the car’s movement across London, but officers still want to hear from anyone who might know about its movements on the night of the murder or before.
Nine men and women had previously been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder, but they have been released under investigation.
The family’s statement pays a touching tribute to “caring and loving” Mr Kareem.
It said: “The grief we continue to feel for the loss of our Alexander is immeasurable. Our hearts have been broken. Every day that goes by that we do not know who did this to him is unbearable.
“Alexander was a caring and loving boy who had his life tragically cut short by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was like any other young boy who liked to hang out with his friends, play on his computer and work on his passion, which was IT.
“March will mark Alexander’s 21st birthday, a day that would have been full of celebration to mark the wonderful, kind and intelligent young man he was.”
The independent charity Crimestoppers is offering a £10,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the person or people responsible for Alexander’s murder.
Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Jolley, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command (Homicide), said: “The investigation continues at great pace. We still believe the answers to a lot of the questions are linked to the white Range Rover in the CCTV we’re reissuing today.
“We are determined to find those responsible for this terrible crime which resulted in Alexander tragically losing his life. We are working to find the answers for his family who have been left devastated by his loss.
“If you know anything, no matter how small or insignificant you think it is, please come forward. If you do not wish to speak to police, call Crimestoppers which is 100 per cent anonymous.
“We are sure there are people out there who know what happened. The start of a new year offers a chance for you to get that information off your chest. Make the call.”