MURDERED: Journalist Kareem Clarke. (Channel 5 Belize)
BELIZE CITY, Belize, Wednesday July 8, 2015 – Police say they have no leads so far in the murder of a 27-year-old journalist who was gunned down in the early hours of Monday.
Kareem Clarke was shot multiple times – in the left side of the forehead, back of the head, abdomen, right upper back and middle of the back, according to the biweekly Amandala Newspaper where he worked – as he was riding his bicycle around 1 a.m.
He had reportedly left the residence of a friend when he was ambushed by a lone gunman who fired several shots, killing him on the spot.
Police recovered eight 9mm shells from the scene.
Investigators say they are yet to determine the motive for the shooting.
Tributes have been pouring in for the slain journalist, from media workers across the country. Many recalled his willingness to be better at his craft and said his death was a loss for the media fraternity in Belize.
Clarke, also worked for sister companies KREM TV and KREM Radio, was described an intelligent, driven and promising young journalist.
Amandala editor Russell Vellos said it was terrible that his future had been cut short, and violently so.
“We will feel his loss; he will be hard to replace. He was intelligent, a good young man and a loyal worker. Through his work, he had made many friends in the media, and along with us, they will all miss him,” he said.
A statement issued yesterday by the newspaper added: “We are still in disbelief over the tragic loss of this very promising and ambitious young journalist. On a day like today, Kareem would have been hard at work, juggling several stories for publication in the mid-week edition of the Amandala newspaper. His murder has left a vacuum that will be very hard to fill.”