Two relatives have been arrested over the murder of a British man who was shot and killed while visiting family in Jamaica.
Michael Brown, 48, who had been involved in a ‘bitter’ family feud over properties left to him by his late mother, was gunned down in Mike Town last Thursday.
The suspects were arrested at an address in Mandeville, near where Michael was killed, and are believed to be family members, a police source said.
‘The police have taken two people into custody in relation to the killing of ‘Jimmy’ who was visiting his family from England. They are helping police with their inquiries into his shooting death.’ said the source.
Michael Brown (pictured in an image shared by local press in Jamaica), 48, was shot and killed while visiting relatives in Mike Town on the outskirts of Mandeville in Manchester
According to police reports, Brown – who went by the street name ‘Jimmy’ – was killed at approximately 12.20am last Thursday in an unfinished house he was building in the community just four days after burying his 74-year-old mother.
The 48-year-old sustained gunshot wounds to his upper body. He was rushed to the Mandeville Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A police report said that Brown was set upon by gunmen who opened fire on him as he entered the house he was building in the Caribbean isle.
Citing ‘community sources’, Jamaican radio station Nationwide 90FM said Brown had been involved in a ‘bitter’ family feud over several properties his recently deceased mother had left to him in her will in the island nation.
The station reported the dispute escalated on Wednesday between Brown and his relatives, and a heated argument took place.
Police immediately opened an investigation into the shooting and are collecting statements.
Detectives are now probing whether Brown was killed in connection to the feud, according to local reports.
A police spokesman said that they have begun investigating the murder of Brown who was from Hertfordshire, UK, saying: ‘This is a despicable crime and we are looking at all lines on inquiries.
A police report said that Brown was set upon by gunmen who opened fire on him as he entered the house he was building in the Caribbean isle
‘This man was from England and came over to look after his new house which he was building and to visit family. From all accounts, he was a hard-working man. We intend to bring to justice those responsible.’ said the spokesman.
‘We will catch those responsible.’
A local resident said that there are lots of land and property disputes in Jamaica which sometimes end tragically.
She said: ‘This young man came over from England to bury his mother and to take care of the house he was building and he will be getting buried himself. That is so awful and sad.
‘Coming all this way and you will not be returning. This can’t be easy.’
Brown is the second Brit to be shot dead in Jamaica this year after Sean Patterson, 33, a personal trainer from Shepherd’s Bush, West London, was found with gunshot wounds to his upper body and head in St James, earlier in January.
Brown is the second Brit to be shot dead in Jamaica this year after Sean Patterson (pictured), 33, a personal trainer from Shepherd’s Bush, West London, was found with gunshot wounds to his upper body and head in St James , earlier in January
Patterson, a personal trainer, was shot and killed outside of the guesthouse where he was staying, pictured, in Jamaica. Witnesses have said they heard ‘explosions’
Speaking at the time, Jamaica Constabulary’s deputy commissioner Fitz Bailey called it ‘a contract killing that emanated from Britain’.
In a video statement, Bailey went on to say Patterson had arrived in Jamaica on 29 December with another man who was also from London. The pair had spent several days at an apartment before checking into the villa in Bogue Hill on New Year’s Day.
Later that day, Mr. Patterson, and the man staying with him, met a third person from Kingston, and all three of them stayed at the guest house in separate rooms.
It was around noon the following day that Mr. Patterson and the Jamaican man went to the villa’s pool deck, and a ‘lone man dressed in a black hooded sweatshirt’ was seen firing shots, Mr. Bailey said.
