WESTERN BUREAU — Businessman and manager of the Mount Salem football club, Eugene “Fat Eye” Parkinson, 40, was on Monday chased and shot to death during a post-training football meeting with officials of the club at the Ironshore playing field in St James.

Four other team officials were also shot and injured when two gunmen surprised the five men shortly after dusk and fired a barrage of bullets that hit them all over the body.

According to the police, at about 7:30 pm, Parkinson and team coach Emerson Henry, a former national under-17 coach, were having discussions with other team officials at the playing field when two gunmen alighted from nearby bushes and started shooting.

“When the gunmen started to fire the shots “Fat Eye” was shot in the left side but he attempted to escape by running away from the playing field towards the Montego Bay to Falmouth main road,” a man who said he witnessed the incident told the Observer.

But Parkinson failed in his bid to escape, as he was chased and repeatedly shot by the gunmen. He reportedly collapsed and later died on the busy main road in the upscale neighbourhood, about four chains from where the meeting was being held.

The eyewitness added that when Parkinson fell to the road, one of the gunmen fired several shots that hit him at close range. He received gunshot wounds to the head, back, chest and left side.

“Dem did definitely want to kill him,” the witness said.

Police said the gunmen later escaped in a waiting Toyota Corolla motor car.

Coach Henry was reportedly shot all over the back, right shoulder and neck during the attack and has been admitted to hospital in a critical condition.

The police have not released the names of the other three persons who were shot and are now nursing gunshot wounds in hospital.

But Constabulary Communication Network liaison officer for the parish, Lancelot Tyrell said they are:

* a 44 year-old electrician who was shot in the buttocks;

* a 30 year-old businessman who was shot in the head, and

* a 35 year-old taxi driver who was shot in both legs.

News of the shooting incident sent shock waves throughout Montego Bay on Monday night. President of the St James Football Association, George Evans, told the Observer that members of his association were shocked and saddened at the incident.

“We would like to express our sincere condolences to (Parkinson’s) family and friends and his associates in the football fraternity; football will be the ‘less’ for his passing,” Evans added.

Shortly before the incident, the Mount Salem football team was in training for today’s return game with Reno Football Club in the J Wray and Nephew National Premier League play-off. But according to Evans the match has been postponed as a result of the incident and will now be played on Sunday.