A 20-year-old father and would-be witness in an upcoming murder trial was gunned down near his home early yesterday morning.

Kifftino Davis, of Peardale Street off Wulff Road, is the nation's 47th homicide.

Mr Davis, a shift worker in the housekeeping department at Atlantis, had returned home from work when he asked to borrow his sister's car to go to the bank.

His mother, Lorraine Davis, estimated the time to be around 12.45 am. She said he'd wanted the money to give to the mother of his child, who had recently called him.

She continued: "He had not too long come home from work, and was talking to me in the bathroom. He wanted to go to the bank but I told him it was too late for that, and to wait until tomorrow morning."

Ms Davis said another son followed him out to the road to see where he had gone. Mr Davis had gone to the bar which was not too far down the street from their house.

Ms Davis said: "When I heard him holler 'Kiffy get shoot', I thought they said Cliffy. Then the boys came up and told me it was my son."

Police reports indicate four men - one armed with a handgun got out of a tan coloured Honda Accord sometime before 2 am. The gunman fired in the direction of Mr Davis, resulting in multiple gunshot injuries to his body. Mr Davis later died of his injuries in hospital.

Mr Davis was the third boy of four children. He had one child, an eight-month-old girl.

The R M Bailey graduate was described as honest and easygoing. Family members say he had no enemies. Some went as far as to say that the young man had never been in a fight.

A relative added: "We want justice to prevail. He was a hard worker, never been in any problems - truly a good boy. He never hurt anybody."

While family members suspect the matter to be domestic, Mr Davis' mother noted that he was a witness in the murder investigation of George Carey.

Mr Carey, 21, of Bamboo Street, in the Pinewood Gardens subdivision, suffered multiple stab wounds in Wulff Road near Lockhart's Bar. He died in hospital three days later as a result of those injuries.

Both Mr Davis and Mr Carey worked at Atlantis and attended the same high school.

Ms Davis said: "It was him (her son) who took him (Mr Carey) to the hospital. They were very close."

Police officials confirm they are approaching the matter with an open mind and will be investigating all possibilities.

Anyone with information concerning this matter is urged to contact the police at 919, the CDU at 502-9991, or the Crime Stoppers hotline at 328-TIPS.

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