A young taxi operator was gunned down in Brown’s Town Wednesday night while sitting in his car.
Dead is 27-year-old Savion Newton Telfer, otherwise called Shem, of Benin, near Brown’s Town and Runaway Bay, St Ann.
Police said sometime after 8 in the evening, on August 22, Telfer was at Addison Park, a public community playground, when a gunman approached him and shot him several times. He fell away against the door. A woman who was with him in the car was hit. She was treated at hospital and released. Telfer was confirmed dead at hospital.
Deputy Superintendent in charge of crime in St Ann, Richard Hylton told the North Coast Times that police had not established a motive for the killing. When asked if the murder appeared to be a hit or contract killing, DSP Hylton said he would not characterize it as such at this time.
Telfer who did not have a public passenger road licence operated between the Brown’s Town Bus Park and Top Road, and during school time travelled between York Castle and Brown Town High to the bus park.
His family members said, he was getting out of the taxi business and had only on Monday, August 20, received an upgraded licence to operate trucks.
Telfer is the only son and last of three children for his mother, Joyceline Telfer. She told The Times that she last saw him on Tuesday when he stopped a car in which she was travelling and spoke to her. She said he was excited about his upgraded licence and told her he was going to Kingston to operate a truck and look about his family.
The father of four had become dissatisfied about his progress in the taxi business and wanted a change, his mother said.
His eldest son and other children are more than distressed. The boy reportedly told his grandmother Monday evening that he was “concerned about daddy” and was going to pray for him. Mrs Telfer said she was struck by that. The boy who lives at her home did pray and then, on Wednesday morning said he wanted to talk to his daddy. He never got the chance to.
Mrs Telfer said, the young man is hurting and asking what will happen now that his father will not drop by his school in Brown’s Town with lunch money or just to look for him.
She said, the family is distressed. “I can’t cry myself to death because nothing will bring him back, ” said Mrs Telfer. She is a woman of faith and said, that and the prayers, and encouragement from members of her church, Faith Evangelistic Centre, are what are keeping her together.
Mrs Telfer said she learned of her son’s death when a sister-in-law ran over to her house Wednesday evening and told her someone had shot Shem at Addison Park. She said she first expressed disbelief about it. And then the calls started coming. Relatives went to the scene and people started sending out pictures on whatsapp. She said she couldn’t manage going to see his body or looking at any of the pictures.
Savion’s father, Leord Telfer is “trying to hold it down,” Mrs Telfer said, but from time to time he screams.
She said the family is trying to hold together.
