By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A MAN in his early 20s and a teenage boy who was out on bail were shot dead on Friday morning when they were ambushed by gunmen in a parking lot on Ferguson Road off West Bay Street.

Their deaths have taken the country’s murder toll to 125 for the year, according to this newspaper’s records.

Police said the double shooting unfolded as the victims were pulling up to a parking lot outside some apartment buildings on Ferguson Road.

They were approached by two armed men who, upon getting out of their vehicle, fired shots in their direction, fatally wounding them.

Police suspect that high powered weapons were used to carry out the killings.

When The Tribune arrived at the scene, one of the men’s bodies was seen sprawled across the street, lying in a pool of blood.

Another body was leaning out of the backseat of the bullet-riddled car.

As the men lay lifeless, loud music reverberated from the vehicle.

The sound of a cell phone ringing could also be heard in the background.

In an interview with reporters Friday, Chief Superintendent Chrislyn Skippings said police were alerted to the double homicide shortly after 8am.

“Our initial investigations thus far revealed that two males, the occupants of a grey Hyundai, had recently pulled into the parking lot just here on Ferguson (Road) when two males exited a small white vehicle, both of whom were armed with weapons,” she said.

“They opened fire on the vehicle, hitting both males multiple times. Both of the males succumbed to their injuries on scene. Hence, we are investigating, and we are appealing to members of the public who have been in this area during that time who may have any information that can assist us with our investigations.”

One concerned person, who did not want to be named, said the incident has left her concerned about her 82-year-old mother’s safety in the community.

“My mom lives here,” she told reporters. “This morning, as soon as I arrived to work, a friend of mine said, ‘did you hear that they had a double murder on the porch’ and I said ‘the porch, where on the porch?’

“When she showed me the picture, I got so horrified and I had a little anxiety and I said, ‘oh my God, that’s right in my mother’s parking lot where she parks her car.”

Thankfully, she said, none of her loved ones were at home at the time of the incident.

Although police do not believe the victims were residents of the Perpall Tract area, it is still not clear what their relationship was to each other.

Some residents allege that one of the deceased men was giving the other man a ride to work in the community just before the shooting happened.

As for the victims’ ages, CSP Skippings said that one was in his late teens, between 18 and 19, while the other was in his early 20s.

Police did not identify either of the victims and relatives declined to speak to the media at the scene Friday.

However, The Tribune can confirm that the murdered teen was released on bail for firearm possession and was being electronically monitored.

Asked if police were concerned about retaliation killings in view of the shooting, CSP Skippings told reporters it was still too early to say.

“However, we will follow the trends and see where it leads us,” she added. “I can tell you that the men and women of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, we remain firm and resolute and once we have information that suggests where this may have emanated from today, I can assure you that we are going to take quick and decisive action to get those persons into our custody in the event to prevent any sort of retaliation that may have occurred.”

The double homicide occurred just two days after a man was stabbed to death in the Pinewood Gardens area.

It also comes as the country faced a rash of homicides in recent months.

Yesterday, CSP Skippings called for Bahamians to partner with police to help keep communities safe.

“These incidents can only be minimised if we partner together, and you provide your local police department with the information. Many family members know who their children are having conflicts with,” she said.

“You know. Why not simply bring them into the Criminal Investigation Department? Let us sit down and try to resolve it so we don’t end up with incidents of this sort again. It has to be a collaborative effort between the community and the police, and the community has to trust their Royal Bahamas Police Force and the men and women from the criminal investigation department who do an extremely awesome job solving these matters through your assistance.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 328-TIPS or the nearest police station.