British man shot dead in Antigua

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Updated: 14:01 EST, 6 January 2011

A British man has been shot dead in Antigua, police on the Caribbean island said today.

Neighbours of the 49-year-old man, who has not yet been named by Royal Antigua Police Force, heard what sounded like gunshots at around midnight on Monday. 

The victim was discovered in his apartment, which had its door open, the following morning. 

Death in paradise: The British victim was staying on the idyllic island of Antigua

The man, who held a UK passport, is thought to have arrived in Antigua in November and was staying in the Hodges Bay area. 

Witnesses have reported seeing a short man with close-cropped hair, wearing black clothing, running from the building on the night of the shooting. 

It is believed there were signs of a struggle and that the man had been shot several times.

Police have launched a murder investigation and are attempting to contact next of kin. They could not give any further information about where the man was from.

The Foreign Office has been informed.

It is not the first time a Briton has been violently attacked at the beautiful island.

British honeymooners Ben and Catherine Mullany from Swansea, South Wales, were the victims of a violent attack at the Cocos Hotel and Resort on the south-west of the holiday isle on July 27, 2008.

Mrs Mullany, 31, a doctor, was shot in the head and died instantly in what is believed to have been a botched robbery at their isolated cottage at the beachside resort.

Her husband, a trainee physiotherapist who was also 31, was shot in the neck and died in hospital in Swansea after being flown home while in a coma.