THE first day of 2020 was marked by the first murder of the year, with a father of four shot dead on Third Street.

The shooting took place shortly before 9pm last night. The victim has not been officially named by police as yet, but is believed to be Marco Meadows, a 36-year-old man whose youngest child is just 11 days old.

Chief Superintendent Solomon Cash said at the scene last night: “Police received a call of a gun report at Third Street, just south of Palm Tree Avenue. Once officers arrived on the scene, they met the body of a male lying just inside Third Street suffering from gunshot wounds. EMS were called in and examined him and pronounced him deceased on the scene.”

He said that the victim was walking along Third Street when he was approached by two men in a black vehicle. They emerged from the vehicle and opened fire, fatally injuring the victim who was shot multiple times about the body.

Supt Cash said: “We don’t know the motive for this homicide but of course we have detectives on the ground.”

He added: “The year just began. There’s always a concern when we lose a life on the streets of New Providence or in The Bahamas so the police will remain focused. We have our strategies in place and we will continue to move with our strategies. Hopefully, we prevent incidents like this from happening.”