Streets of peril
Homeless man left bloodied in latest of recent attacks in Corporate Area
Published:Wednesday | March 4, 2026 | 12:12 AMCorey Robinson/Senior Staff Reporter -
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A homeless man on the run, and another — elderly and recovering from injuries sustained in an attack on East Queen Street in downtown Kingston — have re-ignited outcry against the wanton violence meted out to the country’s most vulnerable. Members...
A homeless man on the run, and another — elderly and recovering from injuries sustained in an attack on East Queen Street in downtown Kingston — have re-ignited outcry against the wanton violence meted out to the country’s most vulnerable.
Members of the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation’s (KSAMC) Poor Relief Department on Monday relocated Alvaro Brevett, 60, from a premises in central Kingston to an infirmary after he was rescued by police during an attack that left him bloodied and bandaged two weeks ago.
His ordeal followed attacks on two other homeless men in recent months — one ambushed and beaten on Knutsford Boulevard, and another in the vicinity of Justice Square on King Street. The tally excludes other incidents across the island, including the stabbing deaths of two homeless men in Montego Bay, St James, in 2023.
At least one woman, Marlene Hylton, was raped and killed on King Street in 2024. In 2022, Lionel Johnson, another homeless man, was set on fire in Heroes Circle, according to information from the KSAMC, which requested that the identities of the recently injured be withheld. Five juveniles were charged with Johnson’s murder.
The recent cases also revive memories of the 2021 slaying of four homeless men in Kingston in one ill-fated night — described by then Mayor Delroy Williams as an infamous and horrific stain on the nation. The men were repeatedly chopped at various locations across the capital and, at the time, homeless persons pointed to one of their own as responsible.
On Monday, Brevett claimed he was attacked and nearly killed by a man believed to be connected to the 2021 murders. He said he escaped two weeks ago only after running toward an oncoming police service vehicle, while his attacker disappeared into the night. The suspect, whom Brevett described as a mentally ill deportee, is reportedly known to police and KSAMC representatives and has not been seen since.
Superintendent Mishka Forbes, commander of the Kingston Central Police, said she was aware of the latest incident but needed further information regarding the antecedents of the suspected attacker or attackers, who were not identified by the patrol that rescued Brevett.
“I was briefed on the incident but haven’t yet received an update. I will have to reach out to my CIB, but I’m sure the investigation is ongoing,” she said.
Forbes however added, “I was told he was set upon by several of them. I was under the impression it was a group.”
Brevett recounted that he had stopped to rest on the steps of a building and dozed off when a stone swished past his head. Startled, he sprang up and asked the attacker what grievance existed between them, but was met only with silence and blows from a piece of board.
“If the stone did go flat, me [head] would have crushed. It graze me. The man start swing some board and lick me all ’bout,” he said. “I’ve never had anything with that man. I see him, know him as deportee, and everybody know you don’t get friendly with deportee.”
He said the onslaught ceased only when the attacker retreated in what he believed to be an effort to find a more effective weapon. At that moment, Brevett spotted a police patrol.
“Is that saved me. They (police) said, ‘Hurry up with the man, you don’t see the man a dead?’ and start drive.”
Brevett spent a week at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH), his hands and feet bloodied, bruised and swollen from the assault. He has since been relocated from a derelict family building on James Street to an infirmary, where Donna-Gay Brady, acting director of the KSAMC’s Poor Relief Department, said he will receive the necessary care.
Brady noted that the resurgence of attacks may require reviving a 2023 public campaign against violence targeting the homeless.
“At that time, it decreased the numbers, but we have realised that we may need to amplify and re-ignite that campaign now that we are seeing a resurgence of violence in the Kingston and St Andrew area,” she said, adding that efforts would focus on stronger enforcement and greater public support.
She urged homeless individuals to visit the Marie Atkins Shelter at 65 Hanover Street for accommodation and access to basic amenities in a secure environment.
“While we may not have adequate bed spaces, we do have bed substitutes that we utilise in the interim.”