Unknown armed men opened fire on two men inside a bar along Manchester Road in Mandeville, fatally wounding them. The victims were killed Monday night around 9:00 p.m., according to preliminary reports.
Their bodies were found lying in pools of blood when police were called to the scene. Officers were told that residents had heard the gunfire, and when checks were made, the victims were seen with gunshot wounds. The men were transported to the local hospital but were pronounced dead upon arrival. The police have not yet established the motive behind the attack, but a subsequent report identified the men as a truck driver and a labourer.
In the Manchester Road area, residents described hearing loud explosions shortly before law enforcement arrived. After the late-night shooting, the bar became the centre of an active police investigation as officers worked to secure the scene and gather initial information.
At first, the identities of the victims were not disclosed as investigators worked to notify relatives. Police later confirmed that the deceased are 40-year-old Nicholas Tomlinson, a truck driver of the May Day district in Manchester, and 32-year-old Chester Smith, a labourer from the same community. Both men were inside the establishment when the gunmen struck.
Despite the swift police response, little is known about what led to the fatal attack. Investigators have not said whether the men were specifically targeted or if the shooting followed an argument or dispute. No arrests have been reported, and the police have not released details about the attackers.
The incident has heightened concerns across the parish, as it marked the second deadly event within a single day. Earlier on Monday morning, the body of another man was found along a haul road in the Brokenhurst community. That discovery, combined with the double killing in Mandeville hours later, pushed the number of murders in Manchester within a 24-hour period to three.