A man recently released on bail for the April 17, 2013 murder of alleged gang leader Julian “Heads” Collie was shot to death early Tuesday morning after police say the occupants of a gray Honda Inspire went on a shooting spree Monday night, shooting three others, until they found him.
Distraught family members on the scene identified the victim 38-year-old Rolando Leroy “Cat” Smith of Ridgeland Park East, is the victim.
“My son is a loving kind hearted person with two babies who he was struggling to take care,” she said wailing. “Somebody shot him and no one knows who did it. This is the second time they shot my son.
“The government needs to do something about all of this murder. They need to hang these murderers.”
Smith’s mother Shirley King said her son has been the target of murderers for years now, having just recently recovered from a murder attempt where he was shot eight times.
Police said in this latest case, it was around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday that gunshots rang out through Albermarle Street where Smith, was among a group of men sitting on a wall outside his home, when the occupants of that gray Inspire pulled up, two men got out and opened fire hitting Smith and another man.
An area resident reported hearing 16 gunshots outside her window.
“Officers responded to this area where they saw a male who was suffering from gunshot injuries to his leg,” Central Detective Unit Chief Superintendent Paul Rolle said.
“EMS personnel responded and transported this victim to the hospital.”
Journal sources said that this first victim is area resident Raymond Rollins, who shot five to seven times about the body.
Now while police did respond to the scene last night and transported that shooting victim to hospital, family members are now questioning why Smith, the father of a five-year-old and a one-year-old, was not discovered until daylight, when the workers at the Royal Heritage Early Childhood arrived on the campus.
The murder victim’s body could be seen lying in the schoolyard.
“During the shooting incident last night the four individuals ran in different directions,” Supt. Rolle added. “So I don’t know if they knew that this individual was in fact injured.”
Screams pierced the morning air as Smith’s mother and family members watched as crime scene investigators wheeled the body from the scene.
“They already shot him down eight times and nothing was done,” the grieving mother added. “Nobody said anything about that and now they came back and shot him up again.
“He was only sitting on the wall, he didn’t do anything to anyone. They have him accused wrongly, they have him accused falsely and they can’t even prove anything.”
Smith was arraigned in August 2013 for Collie’s murder.
Now police officials said shortly before this incident two other shooting incidents were reported, one through Brougham Street and the other through Hay Street where the occupants of that same gray Honda Inspire shot two others.
They said based on preliminary investigations, they are convinced that these three matters are related.
At last reports, one of those victims was listed in hospital in critical condition while the other two were listed as serious.
Police investigations are ongoing into these matters.