The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

SENIOR Assistant Commissioner of Police Emrick Seymour is calling on persons that witnessed the shooting death of a man in Freeport early Sunday morning to come forward with information to assist in the arrest of the suspect.

Police, he said, are aware that many persons were at the scene when a gunman opened fired in the parking lot of an establishment near the International Bazaar shortly before 3am.

“There were quite a number of persons around… and today is an appeal to persons who saw or who witnessed the incident to come forward and assist the police in bringing matter to a resolve,” said Senior ACP Seymour.

He stressed that it is the “civic duty” of citizens to report any act of crime to the police.

“This is murder 17 for us in Grand Bahama. And as I have said, one murder is one too many,” he added.

Sometime after 2am on Sunday, police received a call of a shooting. On arrival, officers discovered the lifeless body of a black male, with bodily injuries.

“Initial reports suggested that the victim was in the parking lot when gunshots were heard. The victim, along with a group of individuals were leaving the establishment, when a lone gunman came into the area and opened fire, hitting the victim in the process,” Senior ACP Seymour reported.

Police do not know the motive behind the shooting, but there have been rumours circulating on social media that the victim may have stepped on someone’s shoes.

Police did not release the victim’s identity, however he is believed to be Kason Fowler, 21, of Andros.

Senior ACP Seymour described the incident as a senseless act.

“I get perturbed because a life has been lost needlessly. It was senseless. We don’t have a motive, and we don’t know what contributed to the death. We know it was caused senselessly. And we want to say to those persons, if you have a grievance with another individual there are ways to resolve differences other than resorting to violence.

“All we are saying is let’s talk about it. Once a life is lost, we cannot bring that individual back and we want you to think before you act.”

He is optimistic that with the help of the general public, the matter will be resolved.

“We can and will as we did in others solve this matter, and my appeal is for those persons to step forward and do their civic duty because you owe it to the community you live in. My appeal goes out to you please,” he urged.

He said police are satisfied with the “excellent” level of support from the public in helping to solve crime in Grand Bahama.

“This is murder 17 - we have solved 85 per cent of them today. And we have one or two still open and under active investigation,” he noted.

Anyone with information is asked to call police in Grand Bahama at 242-352-9774/5, the Crime Stoppers hotline at 328-TIPS or 242-300-8476 if calling from the Family Islands.