Cabbie shot dead by gunmen posing as passengers

Taxi operator Hector 'Teeth A Pull' Lee was gunned down in his vehicle at Bay Farm Road in Waterhouse about 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

Senior Superintendent of Police Kirk Ricketts, head of the St Andrew South Division, indicated that the 46-year-old taxi operator from a Seaview Gardens address died on the spot.

"Preliminary information is that men aboard the motor car posing as passengers opened fire on him just about the vicinity of Bay Farm Road. He was shot to the head and upper body. The investigation is still in the early stages as the unit is trying to understand what happened and why it happened," he said. "There was no obvious signal to point to any particular motive but it does appear that he was targeted."

One route operator who appeared on scene lamented about how his colleague met his demise.

"Mi get a call say Tyrone [Hector] dead and mi couldn't believe. Mi say one more taxi man? A long time him a run taxi until him have him own fleet a car pon the road. We done work right now because him dead in a the line a duty and all a the taxi man them feel a way." Rows of taxis were parked on both sides of Binns Road, near to the gruesome incident occurred. Gloomy-faced taxi operators watched in despair as police cordoned the scene.

One of Lee's relatives said that a couple of years ago, Lee's two brothers died violently.

"All of my relatives die violently. Mi nuh know none of them weh sick and dead," the person said.

"Him [Lee] run taxi in this area, he is well known because he has been running taxi more than 25 years and good with everybody. So mi don't have a reason as to why them kill him," said another teary-eyed onlooker.

Lee was remembered as a good citizen even by police personnel on the scene. Residents said that he is an 'early worker' and goes home early, known by many but doesn't associate extensively. He died leaving seven children, including three adult males who openly wept for their father and tried to console each other.

"Everybody rate him. Him love him little drinking and play him sound in a him car as you can see," one relative said, pointing at the vehicle where Lee's body lay in his blood.

The relative also told THE STAR "I don't think it's robbery because he has everything on him still."