William "Cat" Usher, 30, a resident of Wagner’s Lane, around 9:00 p.m. last night was ambushed and gunned down in front of his common-law wife, 23-year-old Audra Andrews, who is presently five months pregnant with his second child. Usher was shot 19 times. Relatives we spoke with tonight said he was shot in the face and upper body area.
Police who have been visiting the murder scene between last night and this morning, have since recovered 14 expended shells, believed to be the bullets of a 9mm pistol that the gunman emptied into Usher, killing him instantly, said relatives.
The countless number of shots which rang out in the Wagner’s Lane area last night were so sudden and unexpected that residents ran into their homes in fear they would be caught by a stray bullet. When the spray of bullets ended, one man lay motionless on the ground underneath a fig tree a few feet away from his home.
His traumatized saw when he was shot up, but unfortunately she did not see the gunman.
According to relatives, at around 9:00 p.m. Usher, who had gone to a nearby store to buy a telephone card, was returning home when he was called by someone he knew through an alley on Wagner’s Lane. About 10-15 feet away from his gate entrance, Usher was called by a nickname known only to a few – "Kitty".
He turned back to see who it was, we understand. He walked a few feet towards a fig tree and he got into a brief conversation with someone. Moments later, after an exchange of a few words, a shot was heard. Seconds later, as many as 10 shots and more rang out.
Usher’s common-law, who said she saw him coming towards their home, claimed that because of the dark area she could not see much, but she did hear someone call out for him.
The voice then said to him, "How out deh stand?" The victim answered, "How yuh mean, how out deh stand, my buoy? Out yah straight!"
Moments later he was seen with his hands opened up, and then a shot was heard.
It is believed that someone Cat Usher knew lured him to the tree, and another assailant, the alleged gunman, opened fired on him.
This is what his neighbor Lorna Flowers believes. She said she heard the first shot and when her daughter ran into the house and screamed that Cat had just been shot, she could not believe it.
He was a very nice and friendly person, said Lorna.
According to Flowers, when she ran out to the area she saw Usher lying on the ground with one of his hands behind his back, the other stretched out on the ground.
At 1:00 p.m. today a post-mortem was conducted on William Usher’s body, but the cause of death is still pending pending.
When we spoke with his mother and sisters at the morgue, the family was upset and angry about Usher’s death because they believe that he was lured to his death. His mother said that her son’s death was a "hit" by someone.
A sister claimed that Cat was lured by a friend and shot by an enemy.
Funeral services for William Usher have not yet been organized.