David Dunkley, News Coordinator

A disagreement between a group of gunmen is what led to the killing of a man in Mandeville, Manchester, last Tuesday night, residents have revealed.

Information reaching THE STAR is that the now deceased, Andrew Walters, 21, of Nain, St Elizabeth, was shot dead by his ex-cronies after he failed to give account of a gun which went missing.

Police, who after Walters' death realised he was wanted in St James, could not confirm the residents' story, but admitted that Walters was a well known troublemaker in the parish, and was also involved in the lottery scam which was a big industry in Montego Bay.

According to residents, Walters used to move with a group of gunmen from a section of Manchester, but they reportedly turned against him last year after a gun, which was reportedly in his possession could not be found.

The residents say Walters' 'friends' made an attempt on his life late last year, but he managed to escape and since then he hardly visited the area.

On Tuesday, however, there was no escape as gunmen surrounded a car he was in at Hopeton Gardens in Mandeville and sprayed it with bullets. Police said about 9:30 p.m., Walters was reportedly sitting in the car outside an apartment complex when he was pounced upon and shot several times. The police were alerted and he was assisted to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

It was while probing the circumstances surrounding Walters death that it was discovered that he was wanted for murder by detectives in St James.

Subsequent investigations revealed that Walters was fingered in the May 2010 murder of Marvin Thompson, who was shot dead in Maroon Town in St James.

Up to late yesterday, police said they had not identified any suspect in Walters' killing.