Kyle Bruner, a sailor from Chicago, Illinois, was murdered on East Bay Street over the weekend when he was shot dead trying to thwart a woman from being robbed.
Bruner, 34, a former special education teacher, was attempting to protect a woman from being robbed late Saturday night when he was fatally shot in the neck. Bruner was rushed to the hospital early Sunday morning and later died from his injuries.
The gunmen fled on foot in the Okra Hill area. Police Superintendent Paul Rolle stated that one person is in custody while detectives are still searching for the other two.
In Chicago, Bruner’s parents, Rick and Ginny Bruner, learned of their son’s death following their Mother’s Day dinner.
“I think about it, and then I start crying,” Ginny Bruner told The Tribune. “Then I get busy and do something else, and something else sparks a memory and I start crying again.”
Kyle Bruner will be remembered as an intelligent sailor with deep-rooted passion for helping others.
“Maybe we wish he had walked away (from the mugging),” Rick Bruner said. “But if he had, he wouldn’t have been the person we know.”
Tourism minister Obie Wilchcombe stated that it is imperative that the Ministry of Tourism, along with the police, ensure the safety of visitors.
Whether or not Wilchcombe’s pledge is genuinely sincere is still undecided, considering the number of violent attacks against tourists this year.
Anyone with any information on the murder of Kyle Bruner is asked to contact police at 911 or 919, the Central Detective Unite at 502-9991, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 328-TIPS.
