Police have identified Monday’s shooting victim as retired prison officer Harry Elliott, of George Town.
Elliott, 62, was gunned down shortly after 8pm on 25 April, during what police say was a robbery gone wrong.
“Police were on the scene very, very, quickly; the Firearms Response Unit, they found the deceased lying unresponsive on the floor just inside the door with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the head,” said Police Commissioner Derek Byrne during a press conference on Tuesday.
Police say CCTV footage along the area of School Road, where the shooting occurred, showed two masked men entering a commercial premises across from George Town Primary School shortly before Elliott’s arrival at 8:02pm and then swiftly departing on foot at 8:08pm.
Elliott’s death is the most recent shooting, in what police say is a noticeable increase in gun crime across Grand Cayman. Byrne has now made a public appeal for witnesses to come forward.
‘Don’t harbour the killers’
“The premises is on Eastern Avenue… it’s a very densely populated area, there were a lot of people around and we don’t have a lot of witness cooperation at the moment. We have not received much feedback from the community,” said Byrne.
Although no descriptions of the masked men have been provided; Byrne believes their identities must be known by someone in the community.
“The wider appeal to the rest of the community is not to harbour these people, not to give safe passage to these people,” he said.
Governor Martyn Roper, in a statement posted on social media on Wednesday afternoon, also called on anyone with information about the “heinous” killing to come forward.
He said, “I know that everyone across our three islands feels a sense of shock and revulsion over the shooting on Monday, which resulted in the death of a former Prison Officer. Mr. Elliott was a well-loved member of our community. He will be greatly missed.”
He added, “I join RCIPS in making a direct appeal to everyone on our Islands to come forward with any information about this crime. This type of incident is not the Cayman I have come to admire and respect.”
Solving the murder is paramount
During the press conference, Byrne said the location where Elliott was shot and killed is known to police as a hotspot for illegal activity.
“This premises was subject to a search back in 2019 by our crime task force for illegal gambling and there was a criminal investigation pursued following that search,” said Byrne.
The police commissioner said it is not clear why Elliott went to that location. However, he stressed that if a witness was there for an illegal purpose they should still come forward without fear of prosecution.
“Our focus is on the murder investigation, that’s what we are dealing with primarily,” said Byrne.
Anyone with information about the shooting is encouraged to call the RCIPS Major Incident Room at 649-2930.
Anonymous tips can be provided directly to the RCIPS via the Confidential Tip Line at 949-7777 or through the police website.
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