Second double murder in three months shocks Tortola

~~Adz:Right~~ ROAD TOWN, Tortola-THE tragic shooting death of two British Virgin Islanders early Sunday morning (Oct. 12) sent shockwaves through the generally peaceful Territory, as the murder total rose to eight for the year—all of which remain unsolved.

Edread ‘Beef’ Stoutt and Glen Industrious Jr. were discovered shortly after 3:30 a.m. in their jeep at Josiah’s Bay after police responded to a report of shots fired in that area. Both men had multiple gunshot wounds to their bodies, and the vehicle, a Suzuki Vitara, had a bullet riddled windscreen and a shattered left-front window.

“What we have now is two men shot multiple times as they were leaving the [Zaffire Club]…from our initial investigations it looks like they were ambushed by a person or persons who were waiting in a vehicle.

“We believe that whoever did the shooting used a vehicle, given the difficulty in accessing this area. We are appealing to anyone who may have seen a vehicle or anything suspicious in the area around 3:30 am to make contact with the police,” Chief Inspector Tom Murray said in a statement at the scene of the crime.

Industrious’ death hit his family particularly hard, as his half-brother Tristan Industrious-Todman suffered a similar violent fate four years prior in the area of Nottingham Estate.

BVI News Online spoke to Industrious’ other half-brother, Lindell DeFreitas, who had just returned to Tortola from a trip abroad the same day and was supposed to be out that night with Industrious and Stoutt. 

“He asked what I was doing but I told him I had a long flight,” DeFreitas said. Hours later he was awoken by the unexpected news of his brother’s death.

Industrious was further described by DeFreitas as a “quiet, calm and laid back person” who was “not somebody I knew to be in any argument with anyone”.

According to numerous reports, family members grieving at the scene of the crime engaged in a shouting match with police officers over their rights to view the bodies. DeFreitas told BVI New Online that the incident highlighted the breakdown in communication between the police and general public which was leading to rising violent crime in the Territory.

“The problem is us, the community. We have already built up this barrier with the police. There is no longer any trust in the police,” DeFreitas said, before quickly adding that the police had an equal role to play. “As a police, you are supposed to know that people are going to come with their rage, so you have to talk to them in an understanding manner.”

Stoutt and Industrious’ murder marks the second double shooting death for the year and comes just three days after another fatal shooting incident on Tortola.  Police have not divulged if any suspects have been taken into custody up until press time.