Gunshots rang out in West Bay Wednesday night, killing a young man in
what is believed to be a gang related incident.
It was the fifth killing in that district since
the start of the year.
The victim was identified as 20-year-old Tyrone
Burrell.
Witnesses reported multiple shots fired outside a
home on Birch Tree Hill around 8.05pm Wednesday. However, police later said
their information indicated only one shot had been fired.
When officers arrived they discovered the
20-year-old Burrell lying on the ground near a residence not moving or
breathing. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
No arrests were immediately reported. Police were
conducting a wide search of the Birch Tree Hill Road area using the helicopter
and armed ground units Thursday night.
Later in the evening, police were seen stopping
cars on West Bay Road at the intersection of Raleigh Quay - the only way into
or out of the district.
Wednesday night’s shooting happened in the same
yard where Damion Ming was shot back in March. Police said Thursday afternoon
that Burrell was known to be associated with people involved in gangs. Other
sources informed the Caymanian Compass that Burrell had been an associate of
Ming’s.
According to police, Burrell's mother had dropped
him off for a party at the Birch Tree Hill Road location earlier that
evening.
Police believe Burrell did have information
relating to Ming’s killing, but he never took that information to the police
and was never identified as a police witness.
“We believe that Tyrone did have valuable
information related to the Damion Ming killing,” RCIPS Superintendent Marlon Bodden
said Thursday afternoon.
Mr. Bodden added that if Burrell had gone to the
police with his information “we may not be sitting here today talking about
another wasted young life.” Mr. Bodden said Burrell would have been protected
by the police.
Wednesday night’s violence was an unwelcome sight
in West Bay district which saw four killings within two months earlier in the
year.
Four-year-old Jeremiah Barnes’s shooting death in
mid-February sparked a run of homicides that led to the deaths of Alrick
Peddie, 25, Marcos Duran, 29, and Ming.
Since late March, however, gun related violence in
the district had dropped off sharply.
From March through September, the Islands saw only
one other shooting death.
That incident involved a homeowner firing on a
burglary suspect who police said had entered his home.
Just this week, that 65-year-old homeowner, who is
a licensed gun owner, was cleared of any criminal wrong-doing in the shooting.