CASTRIES, St LUCIA (CMC) – Carnival celebrations in St Lucia were marred by at least one murder as a result of separate shooting incidents, police reported Monday.

According to authorities, in the first case, 31-year-old Kerdel Amedee was shot and killed during an incident in Barre Denis on the outskirts of the capital, Castries.

Police have not yet determined a motive for the killing.

Meanwhile, a teenager was among two individuals who were left injured following a shooting at Gros Islet on Monday. Police said that the incident occurred during the early hours on Monday and that the men, aged 19 and 31 years old, were transferred to the OKEU Hospital.

St Lucia is into the final two days of its annual carnival celebrations with the traditional street parade of bands taking place on Monday and Tuesday.

On Sunday, patrons to the annual Calypso Monarch competition expressed their displeasure with the judging in the competition that featured several former winners.

Dezral, the son of a retired Calypso monarch, the Mighty Pep, won with a score of 785 points with his songs ‘De Big Guns’, a tribute to St Lucian sprinter Julien Alfred, and ‘Looking for Fish’, which pays tribute to cultural icon George “Fish” Alphonse.

The first runner-up was TC Brown who performed ‘Our Leaders’ and ‘Iyanola’, scoring 736 points. In third place was Menel with 734 points and fourth was Herb Black with 733 points.