NASSAU, Bahamas (CMC)— Former Member of Parliament (MP) Donald Saunders became the 35th murder victim in Bahamas when he was gunned down on the outskirts of a club late Wednesday.

Saunders, an attorney turned politician, was the MP for Tall Pines and deputy speaker of the House of Assembly in the country from 2017 to 2021.

The police report that Saunders, 49, was outside the club when at 9:15pm (local time) two armed men approached him and other patrons and demanded cash.

“There were about five to six patrons sitting out in the yard when two armed men, both were masked, held all of the patrons at bay and demanded cash. The patrons, they panicked and everybody ran in different directions,” said Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander.

He added: “Shots were fired. After a short while, the patrons who ran to the front realised that one of the adult males was not seen and when they came back to check they met the lifeless body of an adult male lying face down.”

The police believe that Saunders was not specifically targeted.