Investigation of GT shooting continues

(CNS): Two weeks after the shooting death of Omar Samuels in McField Lane, detectives carried out a canvassing exercise of the area in an effort to encourage people to pass information to police. On Saturday night, 18 July, twelve officers from the investigation team attended the location on the same day of the week and at the same time of the shooting to speak with people in the area who may have been present on the night of the shooting.

“The area is quite busy after midnight on Saturday’s and we wanted to reach anyone who may have been there on the night of Omar’s death,” said Detective Inspector Kim Evans who is leading the investigation.

Omar Samuels was found on McField Lane in the early hours of the morning, 5 July, suffering from a gunshot wound. A post mortem was carried out on Sunday, 12 July, which showed Samuels suffered a single gunshot to his leg which penetrated the Femoral Artery. A Major Incident Room continues to operate from George Town police station.

“The exercise was quite beneficial, but we are convinced there are people who were present that night who know more than they have told us,” said Evans. “These people need to really think about what they know and about passing it on. A man lost his life and we need to find out what happened.”

Evans stressed that if people do not feel comfortable talking to the investigation team directly, there are a number of other ways people can communicate. “You could call Crime Stoppers, which is answered overseas, you could speak to an officer you know or you could call the voicemail service,” said Evans.

The RCIPS has still not commented on the response time of the emergency services to the shooting of Samuels, though police have said it was impacted by the need to wait for an armed response unit to check the scene before the ambulance was cleared to enter. Evans has said an armed response unit was on the scene within 10 minutes of the 911 call. However, he did not say how long it then took for the ambulance to reach the victim, who, according to reports, bled to death.

Persons with information can use the following ways to pass it on:

Detective Inspector Kim Evans – 925-6761 or 925-7240
Crime Stoppers – 800 8477 (TIPS)
Voicemail facility – 949-7777