NEGRIL, Westmoreland — The Westmoreland police have launched a major search for two men who shot and killed a Canadian visitor in this tourism resort town, Friday night.

The deceased has been identified as 35-year-old real estate agent, Andre Palakai, who was of a Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, address.

Reports are that about 9 o’clock, Palakai was walking along a section of the West End main road, in the company of his girlfriend and his father, when two men rode up on a motorcycle.

The men jumped from the motorcycle and shot the visitor before jumping back on the bike and speeding off.

The three were reportedly heading back to their hotel after eating at a restaurant. The other two members of the party managed to escape physical harm.

The police, who are probing the case, are yet to determine what sparked the attack. Detectives have said that preliminary investigations suggest that the tourists were not robbed.

Commissioner of Police Carl Williams visited the area yesterday where he met with family members of the real estate agent and examined the spot where the killing occurred.

The killing of the Canadian has triggered howls of condemnation from players in the tourism sector.

“This is a sad day for the industry in Negril,” a female operator of a small hotel, bemoaned in an interview with the

Jamaica Observer.

“This was long in coming,” said her male counterpart, who did not want his identity to be publicised out of fear for his life.

Meanwhile, others were of the view that the killers were not from Negril, as community members are fully mindful of the fragile nature of the tourism industry from which several of them earn their living.

The latest murder pushes the number of murders recorded in the Westmoreland Police Division since the start of the year to 46 — six more than the number recorded over the corresponding period last year.