By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was shot dead in the Pinedale Road area Wednesday night leaving the local community reeling from the nation’s 70th murder this year.

At the scene of the incident, ASP Audley Peters told the press that shortly before 8pm police were dispatched to an apartment complex on Pinedale Road where a man had died from apparent gunshot wounds.

ASP Peters indicated that two gunmen approached the victim in his car and opened fire on him. While the shooting victim exited his vehicle and briefly escaped his assailants he was eventually gunned down in the back of the building near a chain link fence.

ASP Peters was joined by Chief Superintendent Michael Johnson and his assistant Superintendent Alfred Dean.

"Shortly before 8pm police were called to Pinedale as a result of a shooting incident. On the arrival of our officers they were directed to the rear of an apartment complex and next to a fence they found a male laying on the ground with wounds that we believe that are gunshot wounds. Emergency Medical Services visited the scene and assessed that male and determined that there was no signs of life following their assessment," Peters said.

"Our investigations thus far indicates to us that the male was seated at the front of the apartment in a vehicle when he was approached by two gunmen who shot him and then he managed to get out of the vehicle and run behind the building where they continued firing at him and he then succumbed to his injuries there on scene."

While the identity of the victim has been withheld from the press at this time, police indicate that the male victim was in his late 20s or early 30s.

This murder comes from on the heels of a string of three murders in the span of 24 hours earlier this week leaving three men dead from a fatal stabbing and two separate shooting incidents.

In addition to asking members of the community who have information that can assist with police investigations to come forward, Peters said that although authorities currently have no leads, the area of the latest murder the area was historically a hotspot for violent crime.

"This area is historically somewhat of a volatile area for the police in that there was a number of factions of groups who were warring against one another. In this instance we cannot say what was the reason and so we will not speculate. The evidence must lead us to come to a conclusion and we will make no conclusion until we can get all the facts in place."

Peters ended by mentioning that authorities arrested two persons in an unrelated seizure of an illegal firearm.

After attributing this successful arrest to persons tipping off police on the matter, ASP Peters called on more members of the public to break their silence and share information with authorities that can save lives.

“But, again I will appeal to family, friends or whoever is associated with these individuals you are aware that someone is in possession of firearms say something to the police so that we can take action. This community is hurting today as a result of the silence of someone, so you have to break it speak up and say something so we can act on it.

“And I made a comment the other night and just today about girlfriends talking about their friends just today we arrested a young lady and a male in a vehicle with a firearm. So, it proves to us that someone knows what is going on, who has these firearms.”

Police are asking that any member of the public that has information that can insist with this investigation or reveal any illegal firearms to contact them at Criminal Investigations Department at 502-9991/2, Crime stoppers at 328- TIPS (8477) or the nearest police station.