Friends and colleagues of 42-year-old architecture executive Euhon Darling were forced into mourning after he was shot and killed by gunmen on Tuesday evening, prompting at least one childhood pal to decry the murderous state of Jamaica that a “blossoming professional” fell prey to.

According to a police report, Darling was shot around 6:30 pm on Tuesday while he was driving his Nissan motor vehicle on Skibo Avenue in St Andrew. It is alleged that two men on a motorcycle approached Darling’s vehicle and opened fire, hitting him in the head. Darling reportedly crashed into a wall on Cargill Avenue where the shooter proceeded to pump several bullets into the car, hitting him in the upper body. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

READ: Well-known architect shot dead

Reacting to the tragedy, Jason Anderson, a childhood friend of Darling, told OBSERVER ONLINE that it was “a massive indicator of the state of the country and how low the value of life is”.

“Any person who strives for success and succeeds at any level, under any dynamic and under any regime, becomes a target for the evil that is allowed to thrive in Jamaica. The loss of this young man, brother, son, father, industry-recognised leader, it reinforces that none of us at any level are safe,” Anderson added.

One friend said he refused to believe that Darling is dead.

“Mi need fi hear back from you fi tell mi say it was just a bad dream,” the friend said on Wednesday.

Another of Darling’s friends, in acknowledging his talent as an artist and architecture executive, said he used Jamaica as his canvas and lauded him for leaving his “mark on this world”.

At the time of his murder, Darling was a director at Virtuoso Architect, a firm that consists of a team of architects who develop projects starting with a sketch and following it up to complete the implementation of intended ideas.

On the website virtuosoarchitect.co, the company’s portfolio is listed to include major residential and commercial projects such as 22 Seymour in St Andrew; Surreal at the Sugarmill in St James; Texaco in Ironshore, St James; and Bert’s in Montego Bay, St James.

On Darling’s Facebook page, he is seen in numerous photos with track and field icon, Usain Bolt in 2018 during the construction of a business complex at 76 Half-Way-Tree Road in St Andrew.

On the Virtuoso website, Darling is described as “the muscle, the creative brain behind some of your favourite projects”.