A YOUNG man was shot dead last night as he sat on a stairway.

Police reported that the shooting took place at about 10pm at Martins Close off Cowpen Road. Gunshots were heard in the area and police received reports that someone had been shot.

On arriving at the scene, they found the body of the victim.

Supt Shanta Knowles told reporters on the scene last night: “A young man was sitting on a stairway along with others when they were approached by a lone gunman who opened fire in their direction, hitting one of them and fatally wounding him.”

The shooting follows a double murder on Monday in the Pinewood Gardens area of best friends Dion Adderley and Dimetrius Dormeus. Police were not linking last night’s incident and said they were investigating both cases on their own merits.

Supt Knowles said: “We are always concerned when anyone loses their life, especially in incidents like this. We will continue to police the streets, we have our operations going – we will not stop those operations. In fact, we will further increase those operations, but again we are asking the public to partner with us so we can create safer communities.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Central Detective Unit on 502-9991/2 or Crimestoppers on 328-8477 or the nearest police station.