The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A 26-year-old man was shot in the head and killed near a business in South Abaco on Sunday, becoming the island’s second murder victim of the year.

Police said they were alerted to a shooting incident on Bay Street, Sandy Point shortly before 8pm.

Officers said inquiries revealed the victim was standing at a dock in the community, also known as “the creek,” with a group of people when he was approached by a man from behind who shot him in the head.

“Both the victim and the assailant fell into the sea under the dock,” police said in a statement yesterday morning. “The assailant was seen fleeing the scene. The victim was assisted out of water and taken to the Sandy Point Clinic where he was examined by a doctor and pronounced dead.”

A 23-year-old man was arrested on Monday in connection with the incident after officers, while acting upon information, found him at an abandoned building on Casuarina Point.

While police did not release the victim’s identity, he was identified by friends and relatives yesterday as Laphonso “Fanso” Stuart, 26, of Moore’s Island.

His cousin, Kamilah Simms told The Tribune yesterday that a day before his death, Stuart and a group of his relatives had planned to go Sandy Point to for a birthday celebration.

However, what was supposed to be a short fun trip turned into a total nightmare.

“We planned to go to Sandy Point that Sunday (because) a few of our cousins was celebrating their birthday so it was a group of us that planned to go,” she said.

“Not knowing the rides they arranged had cancelled last minute to go on the banks… I didn’t go with them and went to Sandy Point (earlier) and came right back because it was getting late… but they left Sunday around five that evening and was coming right back home to Moore’s Island as they are only 35 to 45 minutes drive by boat.”

However, Stuart never got the opportunity to return home after a gunman fired shots in his direction, killing him.

Describing the moment when she first received the news, Ms Simms said: “Someone had messaged me and asked what happened to Fanso so I was like ‘what you mean’ so some of cousins who went in the boat to Sandy Point with him, I called them and one of my cousins who I called was crying and she was like ‘Fanso get shoot’.”

Ms Simms does not know what led to the incident, but said her cousin’s untimely death left the family and the close-knit Moore’s Island community completely distraught.

“This was a blow for the entire island and (my) aunty and uncle ain’t doing good. That was their baby, a grown man but he was still their baby. He was going to celebrate his birthday next month,” she said, adding that his life was taken too soon.

“He was a loving, caring and kindhearted person, always smiling. Never bothered anyone. He always thought he was the oldest because he’s bigger than everyone, very overprotective when it comes to his female cousins. He was just a cheerful, humble person, full of spirit and he was definitely the life of the party.”

Stuart’s death has pushed the country’s homicide count to 27 for the year, according to this newspaper’s records. It is also one of two incidents that are currently being investigated by police on Abaco.

In the second incident, shortly before 2pm Sunday, officers on Guana Cay were called to the Baker’s Bay Marina where they found an unresponsive Caucasian man lying on the dock of the marina.

Baker’s Bay paramedics were summoned and administered CPR. However, the victim was later transported to the Marsh Harbour Medical Centre, where he was pronounced dead by a local doctor.

Police said “it was observed that the victim had an injury to the back of the head”. The matter is being investigated as a suspicious death at the moment.

Anyone with information on any of these incidents or any other crime matters is asked to call police at 502-9991 or Crime Stoppers at 328-TIPS (8477).