The shooting death of Leroy Vanterpool, outside his family’s premises in Welches, on January 5, 2020, which shocked the Anguillian community, was the subject of condolences in the House of Assembly on Tuesday, January 21.
The expressions of condolence were delivered by Government and Opposition members as they rose to speak on various matters before the House.
Members also took the opportunity to convey their best wishes and support to the family of Salih Abdur Raheem, of East End, who was shot and injured during the sad event, and wished him a speedy recovery.
Mr. José Vanterpool, First Nominated Member, Deputy Speaker and nephew of the late Leroy Vanterpool, responded on behalf of his family.
He had this to say: “Mr. Speaker, I just want to express my appreciation and gratitude to my fellow members of this Honourable House for their condolences at this tough time from myself and my family. By extension, I would like to thank the general public of Anguilla who has been overwhelmingly supportive during this tough time that we are going through. It is one of those matters that you know how hard it is, but you don’t truly understand it until it really hits home.
“With that said, I would also like to express my condolences to the other families who are grieving at this time. I won’t get into listing them as I am afraid I leave someone out. But we are not the only ones grieving, and I would like to let those families know that our prayers are also with you. We feel your pain, and hope that God grant you some kind of ease during this tough time.”
The young parliamentarian added:
“I would also like to reiterate, for those of the listening public who would like to come out to the funeral of the late Mr. Leroy Vanterpool, that the funeral proceedings will take place this upcoming Saturday at the St. Mary’s Pro-Cathedral Anglican Church in The Valley. Tributes will start at 9.30 am, with the funeral proceedings starting at 11 am. For those who would like to attend the viewing the day before, we will be having a viewing in the family’s house at Welches at 2 pm on the Friday.”
