PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – Another young man could be seen Friday night lying in a pool of what is presumed to be his own blood after a violent shooting.
The fatal shooting of a man said to be from the island of Curacao, Shafien Mauricia born on July 30 1987 (28 years old) is said to have taken place just before 10pm at a Bar and Restaurant located at the beginning of Welgelegen Road in Cayhill and consisted of two sets of shots.
According to one resident of the area, she was startled to hear at least five shots fired in the vicinity of the bar which was at the time, occupied with a number of patrons and blaring dancing music.
The music in the bar did not stop playing the resident told us as the first five shots rang out, however soon after another set of shots rang out and that this time the music stopped and all the patrons could be seen scattering from the crime scene.
When the police arrived on the scene of the crime shortly after, they found an empty bar with the body of a man lying in a pool of blood, face down with his head twisted to his left.
The victim was seemingly wearing a jeans pants and a red shirt, dressed as though he was a patron of the bar at the time of his demise. It is not clear if a robbery was involved in this latest fatal shooting crime.
Persons looking on to the crime scene indicated that the body of the man resembled a known national of Curacao however no further details was seemingly known.
We later learnt that the victim was detained as a suspect in a fatal shooting case in the district of Cole Bay on the 27 October 2014. His release came after a discrepancy took place with the timing of his detention.
Initially the crime scene was limited to the Bar and Restaurant however it was later extended to include the parking lot of Builders‘ Paradise.
It is now believed that the initial set of shots may have come from the parking lot and that the second set of shots were fired in bar which would explain the abrupt stop to the music that was playing and the scattering of the patrons.
It is not expected that the public will be given information on the specifics of the investigation however just what transpired between the time of the first set of shots and the second is expected to form a major part of this investigation.
This fatal incident brings the body count for the week to 3.
The police force of St. Maarten is now conducting an investigation.
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P O L I C E R E P O R T
Man shot dead
The Police Department is presently investigating the fatal shooting of a twenty-eight year old male, which took place on Friday evening October 9th 2015 between 09.30 and 10.30 p.m.
The shooting took place at the former Teke Teke snack bar located at the Welgelegen road in Cay Hill. According to information received, a gunman entered the premises and started firing several shots and fatally injuring one man.
After committing this act he fled in an unknown vehicle. Police, Detectives and Forensic department arrived shortly after the incident to conduct an investigation. Police closed off the area and diverted traffic to allow the forensic department to collect evidence while the detectives spoke to witnesses.
Dr. Mercuur pronounced the death of the victim and the body was confiscated for further investigation. It is still unclear what exactly happened on the scene and who is responsible for this criminal act.
The investigation is in its preliminary stages and additional information will be provided to the media as is becomes available.
