The victim, identified by friends and colleagues as Courtney Spence, 32, was discovered around 11.10pm Thursday. His death is the Cayman Islands’ first homicide of 2010.

“We’re totally in shock and completely oblivious to why this happened,” said Progressive Distributor’s Sales and Marketing Director Dax Foster. “From his working demeanour, Courtney didn’t seem like a guy who would have that type of enemy. He was always a gentleman.”

Police had not immediately reported any arrests in Mr. Spence’s death. They also did not state any particular motive for the crime.

Detectives said it appeared Mr. Spence was just leaving work for the night when he was shot.

“This has all the appearance of a deliberate premeditated attack on Mr. Spence,” Royal Cayman Islands Police Detective Sergeant Lauriston Burton said. “I would appeal to anyone who has any information about the murder, or the man responsible, to contact my team at George Town police station.”

Officers believed there was a lone gunman who ran off immediately after the shooting.

The victim’s body was discovered shortly after by a security guard who heard gunshots in the parking lot area.

Mr. Spence had worked as a produce assistant at Progressive for about two years, according to Mr. Foster, and was originally from Jamaica.

He was working Thursday night on the usual shipment of produce, which is one of two such shipments the warehouse receives each week.

Police had an area of the parking lot on the side of the Progressive building cordoned off and had placed several evidence markers in the area where the shooting was believed to have occurred. The Progressive lot is located just down the street from CUC at the corner of Sparkys Drive and Lincoln Drive in the Industrial Park area of George Town.

“We grieve for him and his family,” Mr. Foster said. “Our prayers are with them.”