Residents of Bush Hall, St Michael are describing Barbados’ latest murder as a “senseless killing”, following the death of a 50-year-old man from the area after an altercation with a group of young men.
Police say Timothy Trotman of Story Gap, Codrington, St Michael was sitting next to the road when he was approached by several individuals. An altercation reportedly ensued, during which he received a stab wound. He died at the scene, becoming the island’s 46th homicide for the year.
Trotman is the second man to be stabbed to death in two days. Andy Arthur, 39, was killed just a stone’s throw away in Station Hill on Monday.
When Barbados TODAY visited the area where the incident occurred, residents described the deceased as someone who was regarded as a vagrant within the community, but said they were still deeply saddened by his death.
Eyewitness Eliott Husbands said Trotman died right in front of him. He said he was among a group of people liming on the block when several young men approached Trotman, who was known to frequent the area.
“He was sitting right there on that sidewalk. They asked him a question and he say he don’t know nothing about that. We told them just disperse, leave it alone, but they didn’t listen, so now they have to face the repercussions,” Husbands said.
“It shouldn’t have happened that way. I didn’t see everything, but it shouldn’t have happened. I feel sad for the families – his family, their families – because they were warned.
“So when you do something stupid you have to face the repercussions, simple as that. It happened on my property, it stain me. A murder that shouldn’t have gone on, it is not right,” he added.
Husbands said he felt compelled to speak out on the incident.
“If I don’t speak out about this situation it would be ungodly. Anybody can talk what they want to talk, because at the end of the day the only person that can judge me is God. And if I see you getting unjust, I will put my mouth in it. All of this is uncalled for,” he stated.
Describing the area as a respectable community, Husbands said the incident had left residents shaken.
“This is a respectable block. We all come out here at night. I sell little snacks, we talk about politics, we talk about God. I was a youngster myself, I did a lot of craziness in my life, but when you reach a certain age you gotta stop.”
“A lot of these youngsters doing craziness in Barbados. We are killing one another in Barbados, simple,” Husbands said.
He said he was disappointed by the actions of the young people involved, some of whom he knew personally.
“It should have never happened as Black people in the community. It is wrong. I feel sad, because I know a couple of their parents, I know their grandmother, I know their fathers, and I know their fathers tried to put them on a decent level,” Husbands said.
Another resident, who said he had known the deceased man his entire life, described the incident as disturbing.
“You know the usual things vagrants do, carry away little couple things here and there, but he wasn’t a violent person,” the man said.
A woman who lives nearby said the incident should not have escalated to that level. She recalled only hearing about a commotion after it occurred.
“Everybody was just talking, then some men come down the road, create some foolish noise with the man,” she said.
Meanwhile, another resident described Trotman as a “good fella”.
“He was a nice person. That hurt me; it ain’t right. He used to come out here and lime with the guys, but I ain’t know what happened,” he said.
louriannegraham@barbadostoday.bb
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