Alexander Kareem, whose sister works for the Metropolitan Police, was fatally shot in June 2020 in west London after being mistaken for someone else. His brother Kabir has expressed concerns that he could be the target of his brother’s killer, who has never been brought to justice.
The brother of a man shot dead in an unsolved murder says he is living in fear of an attack by the killer who is still at large.
Alexander Kareem – whose sister is a serving Metropolitan Police officer – was gunned down near his home in Shepherd’s Bush, west London, in June 2020, in a case of mistaken identity.
Nine people, including a boy aged 16, were arrested over the 20-year-old’s death but have been released and told they will face no further action.
Alexander’s older brother Kabir, who lives near to where the murder happened, told Sky News he is “very likely to have crossed paths” with his sibling’s killer, or someone who knows who is responsible and is fearful about what their response might be.
It comes after Mr Kareem and his sister, PC Khafi Kareem – who has more than 1.4 million Instagram followers after appearing on Nigeria’s Big Brother – publicly appealed for anyone with information about their brother’s murder to come forward.
Mr Kareem said: “Given the fact the killers will know who I am because we’ve been publicly trying to seek justice, I have to be vigilant.
“I don’t know how they would react coming across me.
“I have to be wary every time I leave the house.
“If a car pulls up, an unknown vehicle, I’m on edge when those sorts of things happen.
“It’s mentally draining. It’s something I’ve had to live with and learn to cope with.”
‘I don’t want to live a life in fear’
Mr Kareem, 29, said he had thought about moving to a different area but he did not want to be “pushed away”.
“I don’t want to live a life in fear and think I have to run away from what’s happened,” he added.
“People who need my support are here. I don’t think it would be right for me to leave.”
Alexander was on his way to a friend’s house on an e-scooter when he was attacked shortly after 12.30 am on 8 June 2020.
Police believe a white Range Rover drove past and shot him on Askew Road, Shepherd’s Bush, in a case of mistaken identity. The vehicle was later found burned out.
Sky News revealed earlier this month that hundreds of killings have gone unsolved in London in the last two decades – including incidents in which victims have been shot, stabbed, strangled, and drowned.
Mr Kareem said he was still hopeful his brother’s killer would be caught but is concerned “there doesn’t seem that much attention given to this investigation”.
“I will never give up hope,” he said.
“(The police are) saying they’re actively investigating it but honestly it doesn’t feel like that at the moment.”
‘Stuck in that place of grief’
Mr Kareem said his mother is “still in a dark place” more than two years after the murder of her son, who was described by his family as a “computer genius” and planned to go to university.
“We can’t move on as a family knowing no one has been held responsible for the murder,” he said.
“It keeps us stuck in that place of grief.
“It’s still hard to take. You do think about it every day. There’s not a day that goes past where you don’t think about him.
“If I see someone who may resemble him – like a young boy with glasses – it brings up those memories and triggers certain thoughts.
“It does get you emotional.”
Asked whether he believed people know who killed his brother and have not come forward, he replied: “Most definitely.”
In a direct message to those people, Mr Kareem said: “You can’t protect the same people who are destroying our communities.
“(Alex) wasn’t involved in gangs… he was just a young person.
“It could have been anyone’s brother, it could have been anyone’s child.”
Victim’s sister ‘angry’ over killer still at large
On the second anniversary of Alexander’s death in June, his sister Khafi said her brother was “murdered in cold blood on the streets of London” and her grief “felt like a dagger” to her chest.
“Two years on and still his murderers have not been found. This is not okay,” she said.
“It hurts me every day and is not getting any easier, I just find better ways to suppress my grief as time goes on, but every time it arises it is like a dagger to my chest afresh.”
Ms Kareem said news of “young black boys dying needlessly… trigger so much for me” and she was angered that the people responsible for her brother’s murder are “still walking the streets”.
“It makes me so, so angry,” she added.
“If you have any information on Alex’s death, it is not too late to speak up.”