WILLEMSTAD – A 19-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Roshon Giselo De San Valente Giovany Dortalina on Weg naar Welgelegen on Thursday afternoon. Police later recovered a firearm believed to have been used in the killing.
The Curaçao Police Force said its dispatch center received a report of a shooting near a store on Weg naar Welgelegen at approximately 1:33 p.m. on Thursday, August 20.
According to the preliminary investigation, a vehicle had arrived at the location shortly before the shooting. A young man exited the vehicle and became involved in an argument with another young man who was sitting near the store.
The confrontation escalated into a physical fight. Police said that during the altercation, one of the men went back to his vehicle, retrieved a firearm and fired several shots at the victim before fleeing the scene.
The victim, who was struck in the chest, attempted to run away but collapsed on an open piece of land on the opposite side of the road. A vehicle in the area was also struck by gunfire.
Paramedics who arrived at the scene determined that the victim showed no signs of life. A police doctor subsequently pronounced him dead.
Police identified the victim as Roshon Giselo De San Valente Giovany Dortalina, born in Curaçao on April 21, 2007. His body was confiscated on the orders of the Public Prosecutor’s Office as part of the criminal investigation.
Investigators quickly launched a search for the suspected shooter. At approximately 2:30 p.m., police arrested a 19-year-old man, identified by the initials Q.M.A.L., in the Seru Mahuma area in connection with the killing.
Authorities subsequently conducted a judicial search at a residence on Nilda Pintostraat. During the operation, police found and confiscated a firearm in the yard of a neighboring residence. Investigators believe the weapon was used in the fatal shooting.
The suspect was brought before an assistant public prosecutor, who ordered that he remain in custody pending further investigation.
Police are continuing their investigation into the circumstances surrounding the confrontation and shooting.