Man killed in West Palm Beach

WEST PALM BEACH — Dozens of people wept and cried out at the sight of it, a man-sized bundle carted out of a house this morning and loaded into a waiting white van.

It was all that was left of Kevin D. Arnold, a 31-year-old student and father who was good with his hands and looking forward to an honest career working on air-conditioning and refrigeration systems, his family said.

Sometime in the night, someone caught Arnold in his house in the 600 block of 39th Street and shot him to death, police said.

A relative of Arnold's who gave her name only as Ingrid said she and her cousin got a cryptic phone call about 3 a.m. today. "Go check on your bro," the caller said.

Ingrid got her handgun and they hurried to Arnold's house, she said. She heard her cousin, whom she didn't identify, moving through the rooms and then heard him say, "He's in here, cuz. He won't wake up."

She walked into Arnold's room and saw him in lying in bed, his face toward the wall. He had been shot once in the back of the head and three times in the shoulder, she said.

Police confirmed that Ingrid discovered the body but could offer no more details in the killing.

Family members described Arnold as a "sweetheart," a well loved father of three who studied full time at Lincoln College of Technology in West Palm Beach.

Fed up with the tough characters in his neighborhood, he recently had decided to move, said his cousin, Tirzah Gabourel.

"He had come to the realization that this was not the neighborhood for him ... there had been some issues in the neighborhood and he decided, him and his brother, that it was time to leave," Gabourel said. "They were moving Saturday."

Anyone with information about this crime can call Crime Stoppers at 800-458-TIPS stay anonymous and be eligible for up to $1,000 REWARD!

(source: palmbeachpost.com)