Linden student shot dead by ex-boyfriend after WhatsApp post, relatives say

A 17-year-old Linden Technical Institute student was shot dead by her former boyfriend on Monday after she posted a photograph of another man on her WhatsApp status, according to her relatives and the friend pictured.

Toisha Andrews was attacked at about 4.30 p.m. at Block 22, Linden. Her former boyfriend, Anthony Kellon Cato, 21, of Amelia’s Ward, then shot himself, a witness said.

Police said Cato shot Andrews in the forehead. She was taken to the Linden Hospital Complex, where she was pronounced dead on arrival. A .32 pistol was found near Cato’s body.

The friend whose photograph Andrews posted said their relationship was platonic. He said she had ended her relationship with Cato several weeks earlier to focus on herself, citing his insecurity.

He said Cato subsequently threatened Andrews and sent her a photograph on WhatsApp of a gun he allegedly later used in the attack. Andrews confided in him about the threats, he said, and he urged her to report them to police.

A neighbour who witnessed the shooting said Andrews was walking home from school when she spotted Cato’s car. She began running and shouted that she would go to the police station, the witness said.

“She start running and run inside the yard and he ran behind her and started shooting her and then shoot himself,” he said.

Cato’s mother, Shellon Cato, said her son called her on the morning of the shooting and told her the relationship had ended. He said he was hurt because he had invested a lot in it.

She said she urged him to leave Andrews alone and go home to rest. She later received a telephone call informing her that her son had killed himself.

Police are investigating.

Source: NEW ROOMS SITE