A QUARREL over the seizure of a bicycle early on Friday morning in La Penitence Street, Albouystown, Georgetown has led to the shooting death of 27-year-old footballer Michael Junior Payne, a father of one, of South Ruimveldt, Georgetown.Police have apprehended 38-year-old Sherlock McKenzie, called “Beggar”, a resident of Albouystown, Georgetown in connection with Payne’s death, but another suspect is at large.

According to reports, Payne, who for the past three months has been staying at a relative in Ketley Street, Charlestown, had an argument with McKenzie over “territory issues” within Albouystown, and this escalated after McKenzie seized the bicycle of Payne’s cousin and took it to his home.

When Payne got wind of what had transpired, he and an accomplice went in a Toyota Primo to McKenzie’s home and kicked down his door, and a scuffle ensued, during which Payne was shot. The police said several loud explosions were reportedly heard during this altercation, and the suspects fled the scene thereafter, but Payne was found with several suspected gunshot wounds to his head, chest and upper left arm.

He was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival. The body was taken to the Lyken Funeral Home to await a post-mortem. At the scene of the shooting, scores of residents flocked the street.

“A man named ‘drugs man’ come to complain to me about some argument they had, but I was asleep; so my nephew talked to him, saying that the two of them are friends and they shouldn’t go down that road. Then my nephew, Akeem, was going down the road and McKenzie brackle he and take away his bicycle and beat he,” one relative explained.

“Now Payne get mad and decided to go by McKenzie and ask for the bicycle; and like the man wasn’t opening the door, and he push the door and the man shoot he,” according to an aunt of the deceased, who gave her name as June.

She said Payne was not a trouble-maker, and he was a loving person, since he was his mother’s only son. She said Payne, who worked as a mason and plumber, was a helpful person, and police already know that the family is seeking justice, since the alleged perpetrator was apprehended.

Last month, Mark Ross, representative of the Ministry of Public Security, during a walk through Yarrow Dam, Albouystown, Georgetown, disclosed that over 4000 youths and adolescents are expected to benefit from a four- year Community Crime and Violence Prevention Programme. During his outreach, Ross explained that the programme is the first component of the Citizen Security Strengthening Programme (CSSP) of the Ministry of Public Security. He noted that young people in ‘at risk’ communities would benefit from several training initiatives meant to improve their skill level and livelihood with the aim of reducing crime and violence in their communities.