A man was shot dead as he exited a club on Minnie Street on Saturday morning, police said. A second man who was shot was hospitalized. Chief Superintendent Clayton Fernander said officers were called to the scene around 3 a.m. by residents who reported hearing gunshots. When officers arrived they met both men lying in the street.

"It is believed that these two individuals had just left a local club in that area when they were approached by two young men, both armed with hand guns who fired several shots at them," Fernander said. "We are not sure at this time what the motive for this shooting is but we are appealing to members of the public for assistance. Based on our information, we know that there were a number of persons in that area during the time of the shooting."

Fernander said both victims are known to the police. He said investigators were seeking to determine whether the shootings were linked to any other crimes. "Both of them have been in contact with the police before but we are still trying to find the real motive at this time. That's the line that we are following, to find the motive." The deceased was not identified yesterday. Fernander said police also responded to a shooting that took place a couple hours earlier in Flamingo Gardens. He said a man was shot in his hand.

"An individual who was riding his motorbike in the Flamingo Gardens area, he heard shots as he was going home and he realized that he got shot to the right hand," Fernander said. "He was taken to hospital, seen by doctors, treated and later discharged." It is unclear whether the victim was the intended target or if he was struck by a stray bullet.

Murders near 100 mark The murder on Minnie Street brought the national count up to 98 for the year so far. This same time last year there were 84 murders. In a national address on Thursday night, National Security Minister Dr. Bernard Nottage said the government will do all that it can to combat crime, especially murder. He said an examination of the victims in 2015 revealed that 56 percent of them had criminal records, seven percent of whom were charged with murder. He said 80 percent of the suspects in those murders had criminal records.

The minister said if he had it his way he would not grant bail to murder suspects. "Research has shown that persons who are charged with violent crimes, including murder, are more likely to become a murder victim than persons who have not been charged with a violent crime," Nottage said. He added that murder suspects are usually the victims of "fatal retaliation"

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