By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

A 25-year-old man was killed yesterday while approaching his Polhemus Street home in a brazen morning shooting.

A relative identified the deceased as Stervante Moss.

His mother, Myrna Auguste, said her son was arrested a few years ago for drugs and was just released from prison in February this year.

He also has a three-month-old baby.

While on the scene, Assistant Superintendent Audley Peters told reporters that initial investigations revealed the victim was approaching his home when a vehicle stopped him.

Three occupants got out of the vehicle and discharged firearms in his direction, fatally wounding him.

“We’re here this morning as a result of a shooting incident that occurred sometime before 10am when police were alerted to sounds of gunshots on Polhemus and Nassau Street. Our officers responded and on their arrival they were directed to a grey Honda Civic which was parked in an open lot,” ASP Peters added.

“An examination of that vehicle revealed the lifeless body of a male (with what) appeared to be gunshot injuries. EMS was summoned and they then pronounced the body lifeless.

“From what we gather, the victim was the only person in the vehicle.”

Asked if it seemed the victim tried to flee the vehicle after being approached by the assailants, he answered: “Not flee the vehicle, but to flee the scene itself.”

Ms Auguste explained that Moss was using her car at the time and recalled seeing the assailants killing her son.

The mother heard “many” gunshots, but could not keep count of how many were fired. She admitted she was “scared” hearing the shots.

“He was driving my car and he just went round the corner. When he was coming back, I heard the gunshots. When I looked outside, I see the person come out of the car and they still was shooting.”

She had a warning for the killers.

“God don’t sleep you know. Y’all killed my son, right? Y’all look at me good and I hope y’all watching this,” she said. “For the killers who kill him, God gonna deal with y’all you know.

“Y’all gotta take life serious now. Y’all kill my only son... Y’all just take my heartstring from me.”

She remembered Moss as “generous” and “caring”, adding that he was not a troublesome person. She said he spent a lot of time at home.

“He might have some habits, but he is a loving person,” she said. “He liked to smoke and he was coming off that, but he’s a nice person. He is loved by many.”

Family members were visibly distraught and inconsolable at the scene. Relatives were  wailing and some were seen past the yellow police tape as the body was taken away.

After the police had completed assessing the scene and the deceased was removed, the car Moss had been shot in was seen being driven off the scene and back to the relatives.

The front passenger seat had shattered glass and blood splatter. The back window glass appeared to be completely shattered.

ASP Peters noted nothing suggested the matter was gang related.

Last month, there was a shooting incident on Polhemus Street which left a man dead and two others injured in hospital.

Asked if Monday’s incident was retaliation or if the deceased was involved in May’s killing, he answered: “That may be possible, but we can’t confirm that at the moment because we’re at the early stages of the investigation and everything has to be correlated to come to some conclusion.”