Men shot in alleged shootout in Layou hospitalised

The Central Leeward town of Layou, where residents are no stranger to gunshots, erupted with gun shots on Sunday, November 2, 2025 around 8:00 p.m. and when the noise died down, two men were hurt.

The men, Enrique “Shoeboo” John and Tilon Patterson were up to the time of going to press, were housed at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (MCMH), both nursing gunshot wounds.

A resident told SEARCHLIGHT that he is not certain what happened, but noted that John and Patterson are not friends and allegedly exchanged gunfire. Another resident said that John’s wound may have been self-inflicted.

John is no stranger to the law; he is one of six persons charged for a robbery at the South Rivers branch of the General Employees Cooperative Credit Union (GECCU) on July 16, 2024 and is currently on bail in relation to several offences linked to the robbery, namely gun and ammunition possession and attempted murder.

This is the second shooting incident in Layou in weeks. On Saturday September 13, 2025, 23-year-old Darrel Cummings of Chateaubelair/Questelles, who was described as an “outsider” by several villagers was shot and killed.