Adrian St. John, Captain of Chris Gayle Academy shot dead in Trinidad

Port of Spain, Trinidad: Authorities in the eastern Caribbean island of Trinidad said on Tuesday that they were investigating the fatal shooting of a 22-year-old British citizen who was an up-and-coming cricket player. Police said they are questioning a 24-year-old man detained in the killing of Adrian St. John. They said St. John was leaving a relative’s home near the capital of Port-of-Spain on Sunday night when two armed men approached them. Police said the suspects stole their money and cellphones and told St. John to drive away. Officials said one of the suspects then shot at the car and hit St. John in the back of his head. [caption id=“attachment_2727366” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] 22-year-old British cricketer Adrian St. John[/caption] Family members said St. John was born in Britain, moved to Trinidad as an infant and returned to Britain when he was 7 years old. Relatives said he was scheduled to return to Britain this week and planned to move to Trinidad permanently in January. St. John was known as “AJ” and was captain of the Chris Gayle Academy in London. Officials said he graduated in history and philosophy at Hertfordshire University and was one of the first members of the academy, which helps at-risk youth obtain better education, training and employment. St. John formed part of the U.K. squad that traveled to Jamaica when officials launched another academy there in 2013. Chris Gayle took to Twitter to expressed his condolences to the young cricketer’s family.

Such sad news to hear. My condolences to his family & friends. Adrian St John was the captain of the academy. #Sigh pic.twitter.com/Pg4OAmEMC6

— Chris Gayle (@henrygayle) April 11, 2016

“AJ developed into a very promising cricketer playing at various club sides in Surrey. He will be deeply missed,” the academy said in a statement. “AJ had such a positive effect on others around him. With that infectious positive energy, he had the ability to make people laugh and smile at will.” St. John also played for the Alleyn Cricket Club between 2009 and 2014, according to the Surrey Country Cricket Club. “He was clearly a talented cricketer and a very popular guy and everyone at the club was shocked and saddened when we heard this news,” Paul Taylor, head of the Surrey Cricket Foundation, said in a statement.