POLICE have launched an island-wide search for two men they believe are responsible for the shooting death of a man over the weekend. This incident pushed the country’s homicide count to 26 for the year, according to The Tribune’s records.

It happened shortly after midnight on Saturday.

Police said the victim was standing outside a sporting lounge at Sequoia Street, Pinewood Gardens talking with friends when two men with handguns approached and shot him before fleeing on foot. The victim was rushed to the hospital where he later died of his injuries.

Chief Superintendent Clayton Fernander told The Tribune yesterday that police are following significant leads as the investigation continues.

While he said the official identification would not take place until later today, The Tribune understands the victim is Deranardo Dean.

Police yesterday urged members of the public to come forward with any information they might have that could lead to solving the case.

The fatal shooting happened one week after two separate shooting incidents left two males – a 17-year-old high school student and a man on bail for murder – dead.

Around 3pm on Saturday March 12, police officers responded to reports of gunfire at Wentworth Street in the Ridgeland Park west area. Officers discovered the body of a man in a Pontiac car suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to the head. He had been approached by two men with handguns and shot before the suspects fled on foot.

Assistant Police Commissioner Stephen Dean told reporters at the scene that while police were not able to identify the victim, officers were “canvassing the area” for leads in the matter.

He was later identified as Melbourne “Snatcher” Bain, a man known to police and on bail for murder, for which he was being electronically monitored.

This shooting death came 36 hours after officers were called to the Flamingo Gardens area where a young man had been shot in his body. They found the lifeless body of a teenager who is understood to be 17-year-old Stephan “Balla” Horton.

According to reports, the 12th grade student of CC Sweeting High School was walking on Hyatt Drive around 9pm on Friday March 11 when a man with a handgun in a grey van approached and shot him before speeding off. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

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