CLARENDON, Jamaica— Police are trying to determine the circumstances which led to a man being shot dead at his home in the upscale community of Glencoe in Spalding, Clarendon on Thursday night.

The victim has been identified as Dean Melville, 62, an architect and resident of Mimosa Drive in Glencoe.

According to a police report, sometime after 9:00 pm, Melville was at home with his family when he was shot in the neck. His wife told detectives that he was asleep when she observed that his licensed firearm was positioned on a nightstand where his phone is normally kept. She told detectives that while attempting to move the weapon her husband awoke and grabbed the gun which then went off hitting him in his neck.

The injured man was rushed to the Percy Junior Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Police are awaiting the outcome of an autopsy and ballistics examination to determine whether the incident was an accidental shooting. The incident has so far been classified as a homicide.

— Kasey Williams