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A 24-year-old man was murdered last night on Cumberbatch Street,  and Delbert Alvarez was likely off his turf when he was targeted. 

Alvarez who is known to hang out Majestic Alley, last night Alvarez was in Lake Independence, at his girlfriend's house.  He left to make a weed run - and never came back. 

And today Cherisse Halsall Alvarez's his final steps and spoke to his family to try and understand the shock and horror they are experiencing at the loss of their brother and son.

Last night 24-year old Delbert Alvarez left his girlfriend's house to buy weed, he was in an unfamiliar neighbourhood and probably thought that no one would even give him a second look as he rode through the area.

That wasn't the case, because Alvarez was pursued and shot up to 4 times. His family is recovering from the shock but this morning his sister told us that she's trying to piece together what she can about the circumstance surrounding his death.

Lunette Garnette - Sister of the deceased

"About after 10 my mom came and my mom told me Lunette, she said it even before I opened the door, she told me Lunette they just shot up Delbert and Delbert died. I bawled out and I told them no not my little brother, no. We went to the morgue, we took too long, we didn't see my brother until long after. I just saw his head police wouldn't tell me anything. They didn't explain anything. This morning I tried to pick up the pieces I told my common law, I said, let's go so that I can find out where Delbert got shot, why Delbert got shot. I asked a couple people they said they didn't know but people wouldn't even talk. We went around to an area that he knew and I asked a young man. Do you know where the young man was shot he's my little brother. He said it was right over there, he said they chanced him, he said he came to buy weed and the last word that he screamed was Mom, and they shot him up in the stomach. He came off of the Bicycle the door facing this way, he had to come off of the bicycle and turn this way. Where the ran from the ran and came from the back and he probably heard the fidgeting in the grass and he swung around and shouted Mom and they just shot him up but I believe it was in here because the police are trying to understand how he got shot and how he got onto the verandah because he had a bicycle."

On Monday morning 27-year old Ronald Micheal was gunned down in the same area while cutting grass for a friend. That murder had left tensions between rival groups in the area unusually high and it may be that Alvarez became collateral damage.

Lunette Garnette - Sister of the deceased

"My brother he isn't from that area he's from a different area he just went to buy, strange person, okay the strange person will get it one for one but they shouldn't have done that they should have thought before they did it because the same way they hurting and they're still hurting we're hurting more. My mom only has two children, my brother and I, she doesn't have anyone else. They shouldn't have done that to my little brother, my little brother had run-ins with the police but he hadn't killed anyone. They put a hole in our hearts. They don't know what they've done to us. We don't even have any money to bury my little brother. They don't know my little brother was only 24 he hadn't even started to live his life yet."

A family reeling and constantly re-playing events to examine where they might have done something different, some minuscule change of direction that might of changed Delbert Alvarez's fate.

Lunette Garnette

"They took away my little brother, I no want no revenge, I no want nothing, I just want put down my brother in peace and I left unno to god because everybody got their judgement. From I got it, he got it. Break his legs if he'd done something to you, break his hands, but don't kill him. They killed him like he was nobody and then they left him down there."

And Delbert himself may have felt that something was brewing last night.

Lunette Garnette

"Delbert was in the yard picking his dreads like something was bothering him, picking his dreads because he was just starting to grow dreads. Delbert said nothing, we call him BIGGS; BIGGS no say nothing. He jumped the bicycle was giving him trouble he left and came back. It's like it was a sign that something bad was going to happen."

He may have had a palpable sense of danger, but he couldn't have foretold that he would be that night's flashpoint.

Alvarez's family is asking for assistance to bury him. Anyone able to offer assistance can contact them at 652-4380.