Family of Alexander Kareem mark one-year anniversary of his shooting

The family of a man who was shot dead in a case of mistaken identity have issued an appeal for information to mark the one-year anniversary of his death.

Alexander Kareem, 20, was shot on Askew Road, Shepherd’s Bush, west London, shortly after 12.30am on June 8, 2020 as he was scootering to a friend’s house.

Metropolitan Police believe a white Range Rover drove past and shot him in a case of mistaken identity. The vehicle was found burned-out 25 minutes later on Ascott Avenue.

In a statement to mark the occasion, Mr Kareem’s family said they “would do anything” to have him back.

The statement said: “Alexander was a sweet, intelligent and quiet boy who never did anything wrong. His kindness shone from him, it is unbearable that anyone could hurt him and, knowing they had targeted the wrong person, left him on his own.

“We would do anything to have our Alexander back and so would the community that he was such a big part of.

“In what has been an unbelievably challenging year for us as a family, the hardest part of all is that this story has not ended.

“We continue to urge anyone who knows what happened that night to call the police, or call Crimestoppers completely anonymously. We believe that someone within this community knows what has happened, please help us.

“Nothing will fix our broken hearts but ensuring the individual or individuals who did this are behind bars and knowing no-one else will have to go through what we have at the hands of these people will enable us to stop searching.

“We want to start to look forward to a life in which we hope to live by Alexander’s example of leading with kindness.”

Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Jolley, who leads the investigation, echoed the family’s appeal.

He said: “I signed up to be a murder detective to get justice for victims like Alexander and his devastated family, I will not tire until we do.

“If anyone reading this is holding on to information, let it go, call us or Crimestoppers. We will protect you and you may be the piece of this puzzle we are missing. Do it for Alexander and his family.”

Anyone with information is urged to call 101 ref CAD 224/08Jun, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.