Alexander Kareem murder: Student’s family ‘wait with broken hearts’ for justice

Alexander Kareem
Family handout
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

The family of a student shot dead in a case of mistaken identity today spoke of their “forever loss” and fight for justice on what would have been his 21st birthday.

Alexander Kareem was riding an e-scooter to a friend’s house in Shepherd’s Bush, west London, when he was “ruthlessly” gunned down at 12.40am on June 8 last year.

Computer whizz Mr Kareem’s sister Khafi Kareem is a serving Met police officer.

Detectives have issued CCTV of a white Range Rover found burned out on Ascott Avenue, Ealing just 25 minutes after the first call to police.

White Range Rover sought by detectives investigating the murder of Alexander Kareem
Metropolitan Police

Nine people, including a 16-year-old boy, have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder and released under investigation. Crimestoppers has offered a £10,000 reward.

Alexander’s family said in statement: “Today should have been a day full of celebration, a day we would have spoken about how proud we were of the young man Alex had become.

“We would have been talking about his time at university. He would have new friends to tell us about, be full to the brim with new knowledge from his course in computer science and be discussing his future plans.

“Instead, we find ourselves at a sense of loss. Loss of the bright and passionate young brother, son and friend he was.

“Our loss will be felt forever, nothing can bring Alex back.”

They added: “Someone in the community knows who killed him, they know who pulled the trigger so ruthlessly and unnecessarily at our gentle and caring Alex.

“We wait, with broken hearts, for that information to come through and potentially give us closure.”

Alex’s sister Khafi Kareem, left, and mother Victoria Oloniluyi at his funeral
PA

Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Jolley, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: “The investigation into Alexander’s murder continues.

“Alexander’s 21st birthday is a reminder to us all of the extraordinary loss that his family and the community feel. Don’t hesitate, make the call.”

Anyone with information is urged to call police on 101, quoting the reference CAD224/08JUN or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in