A British tourist has been gunned down and killed while on holiday in Jamaica. Sean Patterson was reportedly shot multiple times at the One Love Guest House in Bogue Hill, St James.
Local police say the 33-year-old personal trainer, from West London, was found with gunshot wounds to his upper body and head at around midday on Monday (January 2). Jamaica Constabulary Force says its Montego Bay officers received reports that the British national was standing by a pool at the villa when witnesses heard 'loud explosions'.
The force told the PA news agency that Mr Patterson was then shot multiple times after a short chase, the Mirror reports. He was rushed to hospital with gunshot wounds to his upper body and head, but was unable to be revived.
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A 34-year-old man from Kingston, Jamaica, has been now taken into custody in connection with the incident, according to local media. Reports in Jamaica claim the suspect had been deported from the UK in 2013.
Mr Patterson is understood to have been in the country since December 29, 2022. A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson confirmed to PA they were currently 'supporting the family of a British man who died in Jamaica and are in contact with the local authorities'.
Mr Patterson is the first person to have been murdered in the parish of St James this year, with the suburban area reporting a total of 198 murders in 2022. Jamaica as a whole meanwhile reported 1,421 killings out of a total population of 2.8 million people at the start of December, outpacing the 1,375 killings in the same period last year, a spokesman with Jamaica’s Constabulary Force told The Associated Press.
The prime minister declared a widespread state of emergency last month in response to a surge in gang violence on the island. Last October, Jamaica’s broadcasting regulator also moved to ban music and TV broadcasts deemed to glorify or promote criminal activity, including violence, drug use, scamming and weapons.
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