Grand Cayman shooting leaves seven seriously injured at football match
At least seven people have been seriously injured in a shooting at a crowded football match in the Cayman Islands.
The shooting, which police believe could be gang-related, occurred late on Sunday in West Bay, located in the north-west point of Grand Cayman island, authorities said.
As of late Monday afternoon, four of seven victims were discharged from the hospital, the police commissioner, Kurt Walton, said at a press conference.
He noted that while the investigation was ongoing, the hypothesis was that a lone gunman opened fire on a small group of people gathered in the stadium’s north-east corner, seeking to kill at least two of them.
“This was a targeted attack,” he said. Walton noted that four gangs originally operated in the Cayman Islands: two of them in the capital of George Town and two others in West Bay where the shooting occurred. Three of those gangs have since merged, but it is not clear if a certain gang was involved. “I can’t get into specifics,” Walton said.
The shooting occurred at the start of the match’s second half, with about 200 to 300 people attending the game at the time, Walton said.
“This could have gone horribly, horribly bad,” he said. “We have never seen anything like this before.”
Authorities said the first shots were fired just outside the changing rooms at Ed Bush Field.
No one has been arrested, and police did not provide a motive. Authorities are requesting witnesses and anonymous tips and have offered a $300,000 reward leading to an arrest.
“It’s really challenging in such a small environment to get people to cooperate,” Walton said.
About a month ago, the police commissioner warned about a rise in gang-related crimes, especially in West Bay, where Sunday’s shooting occurred. One man was fatally shot in January in that community, and another was injured days later.