Dutch Quarter:--- Detectives on St. Maarten are busy investigating yet another murder which was committed early Tuesday morning on Madrid Drive. According to neighbors, unknown gunmen entered the home of 28 year old Anthony Whyte of St. Kitts and began shooting.The victim managed to run through someone else's apartment and escaped from the shooters after he was shot at least once on his right side. Neighbors said they heard the dogs in the area barking around 02:00 am and shortly after that they heard some banging before gunshots were fired. They said when the gunmen left they all ventured outside and called out to their neighbor whom they found not far away bleeding profusely. "Anthony told us he was shot on his right side as he was bleeding; he also told us that the bullet went through his body. Shortly after he collapsed we took him on the step and rested his head on a pillow until the police and ambulance reached the scene." The victim also had a cut under his chin said another neighbor.
"The police reached here in no time but the ambulance personnel could not come to the house because of the deplorable condition of the road. Neighbors had to assist the ambulance personnel to take the victim to the ambulance which had to park down the road." Anthony Whyte succumbed to his injuries at the St. Maarten Medical Center confirmed Chief Prosecutor Hans Mos.
It was clear that the gunmen smashed open the door where Whyte is living to enter the house where they shot the victim. Blood stains were still at the spot where the neighbors took the victim when they found him outside.
The distraught neighbors said the young man was peaceful and helpful to those around him but they could not say if he was involved in illicit activities. One neighbor said some two weeks ago a set of detectives were in the area looking for Anthony but no one told them where he was living. "Anthony moved in here about a year ago and while he was a friendly person we do not know much about him. All we can tell you is that this incident has left a five year old girl without parents. St. Maarten now has another orphan to take care of because the child's mother passed away recently and she was living with her father who with the assistance of friends was taking care of her."
Another neighbor said he knew the young man was involved in "things" and he spoke to him a number of times. That man did not want to say what kind of "things" the victim was involved in.
When asked where the victim was working the neighbors said he was a construction worker who was performing odd jobs. A close female friend of the victim said her friend had a 5 year old daughter whose mother recently died. She said she has no idea as to who killed Anthony since according to her he had no enemies.
Tuesday's killing has brought the number of murders on the Dutch side of the island to 12, with only three of them solved thus far.