This country recorded its first homicide for 2011 with the shooting death of Edwin Robinson, 59-year-old business man of Cane End, in the Marriaqua valley, Wednesday, February 9.{{more}}

According to police, Robinson, also known as “Palmer”, was attacked by three gunmen at his business place in Cane End around 8:50 Wednesday evening.

SEARCHLIGHT has however been reliably informed that Robinson and two customers were at the shop when three masked gunmen attempted to rob the business place.

Police say that the businessman sustained several gunshots about the body and was taken to the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital where he subsequently died.

Meanwhile, news of Robinson’s death shocked the Cane End community.

Many persons said that they were shocked to hear of the tragic circumstances in which Robinson lost his life.

Yesterday morning (Thursday), neighbours and other villagers huddled together close to the business place which Robinson operated for years.

Persons referred to Robinson as a man who lived well with everyone in the community.

“This has been the community shop for years,” Eucille Francis, neighbor told SEARCHLIGHT.

She described Robinson as a quiet, hard working man and said that he was very generous.

“He will be missed,” she continued, adding that Robinson’s death may be the end of an era, noting the many years that the business place had served the community.

Jamal Thomas, nephew, also told SEARCHLIGHT that he remembered his uncle as a generous man.

“If you ask him for anything he will give you,” Thomas said.

Within recent times, a number of armed robberies have been reported in the local media, including on July 11, 2010, when Austin Mounsey, businessman, was robbed and shot outside the Bank of Nova Scotia in Kingstown; in January 2010, Steve Wallace was relieved of $7,000 by an armed robber in broad daylight; June 22, 2010 a Venezuelan businessman was shot and killed after a robbery.

The most recent incident took place on January 11 this year when a businessman was attacked and robbed by two men, one armed with a gun and the other a knife.

In that incident, the man was relieved of a sum of cash and jewelry before being beaten by the assailants. (DD)