Killing of elderly man described by PM as the action of ‘a crazed animal’

The killing last night of an elderly man has been described by the Prime Minister as the action of “a crazed animal”.

Charles McIntosh was gunned down at 10:40 pm on Friday in the driveway of his home, located along the Arnos Vale main road.

A police source said McIntosh, 74, was shot in his back.

The retired civil servant and accountant is believed to have been returning home from his job as supervisor of  Wilson Enterprises Inc (Sol Gas Station) located just a few yards from his home.

A release from the police said: “After the gas station was closed, he was walking along the Arnos Vale Public Road towards his home which is close by. On reaching his driveway, an unknown assailant exited from a car and shot him about his body. McIntosh was pronounced dead at the scene by the District Medical Officer. The Crime Scene Unit (CSU) of the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF) responded and processed the crime scene.”

Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves, in an interview with SEARCHLIGHT on Saturday described the killing as a “beastly murder” and said the “sick behaviour is like that of a crazed animal or animals; someone, who in their minds, occupies a jungle.”

Gonsalves said persons like that have chosen to act that way, and we should stop making excuses for them.

“We need to speak to their individual responsibility and choice.”

“Nothing is exculpatory, nothing can excuse this,” the Prime Minister said in relation to the killing.

“Mr McIntosh is a gentle human being. He has had a life of tremendous service to the country in different capacities and this is a man who is still working, despite his age. He is a wonderful human being, a husband, a father.”

McIntosh was the husband of Doris McIntosh, former president of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Netball Association and herself a retired civil servant.

The Prime Minister said today is the last day on the job for Commissioner of Police (CoP) Colin John, but the new acting Commissioner Enville Williams, who will officially take up duties tomorrow, and new head of the criminal division acting Assistant Commissioner of Police Trevor Bailey are “both assiduously at work,” in relation to last night’s killing.

“They realise that while all lives are equal, when you have activity like this — someone who is not involved in any criminal activity or is not suspected of being involved in any criminal activity; a clean, elderly gentleman — a killing like this, right thinking people view this with absolute abhorrence,” the Prime Minister said.

[[ UPDATED at 2:15 pm on September 30, 2023 to include the exact age of the deceased and comments from the police. This update also includes corrections to the deceased’s time of death and the position he held at his workplace.]]