Jared Hanhams says he tried to dissuade his best friend from leaving the South Shore for northend Dartmouth.
But Jamie Bishop, 21, was determined to be closer to his girlfriend so he made the move from his childhood home of Tanners Settlement in Lunenburg County about six months ago.
“It wasn’t a good environment for him, not a very nice neighbourhood,” recalled Hanhams, who said he was relieved when Bishop made up his mind to move again, this time to Eastern Passage two months ago.
Hanhams made the trip from his Lunenburg home to help with the move. The new home Bishop shared with his girlfriend was a freshly built apartment building with underground parking and he loved his new digs, remembers Hanhams.
On Monday morning Hanhams got a phone call saying his best friend had been shot and killed in a drive-by shooting in Eastern Passage. According to RCMP, who attended the scene shortly after 12:40 a.m. Monday, Bishop was walking with a female when the incident occurred on Hornes Road. That woman was his girlfriend, Hanhams said.
Police are looking for a black, four-door, older-model Chevrolet car spotted turning onto Cow Bay Road from Hornes Road. It’s not known if there was more than one person in the vehicle and police have yet to identify any suspects.
“I’m heartbroken,” said Hanhams. “He was the nicest, kindest- hearted, tough little fella you’ll ever meet. He might have acted a little cocky at times but he would do anything for you.
“This should not have happened to him. He was not one of those people. I told him not to move up there.”
Hanhams, 19, says Bishop had been scalloping offshore out of Yarmouth and spent his off days in Eastern Passage. He says Bishop never told him he felt threatened by anyone or saw any signs that he’d been involved in criminal behaviour or associated with dangerous people.
“I’d like to know what he was doing walking down that street. He travelled everywhere in his truck. He was not involved in drugs or anything like that. He smoked cigarettes and went fishing when he could. Jamie was too busy with his work and didn’t have time to get up to that sort of stuff.”
Hanhams, who also fishes for scallops, said Bishop taught him how to handle himself on a boat. Bishop sent Hanhams a text message last Thursday saying he was home in Lunenburg County and wanted to hang out. But Hanhams was offshore fishing at the time and got the message when he finally arrived home on Sunday.
“I got home yesterday and this happened.”
The Chronicle Herald spoke to five different Horne Street residents, none of whom had heard gunshots or witnessed any evidence of violence around the time of the incident.
Mark Johnson said he hadn’t heard about the shooting before talking to the Herald at about noontime. He said he drove his transport truck up the street at about 5:30 a.m. and saw no sign of police.
Dal Hutchinson, Nova Scotia RCMP spokesman, said because the crime scene was a small, confined space on the side of the road, the initial investigation wrapped up relatively quickly. He said an RCMP officer who arrived first on scene rushed the victim to the Dartmouth General Hospital. It is not considered a random shooting but Hutchinson said it’s too early to speculate on a motive.Ivan Langille said he discovered about 10 RCMP cruisers outside his Horne Street home at about 1:30 a.m. The 81-year-old man said when he went outside to find out what was happening, a police officer alerted him of the shooting.
“I’ve never seen anything like this in all the years I’ve been living here,” said Langille. “The officer said I shouldn’t be living here but I think he meant I shouldn’t have been there at that moment.”
Another childhood friend of Bishop’s said she’s devastated by the tragedy. The 19-year-old Lunenburg resident, who spoke anonymously, said Bishop portrayed a rough exterior but was a caring, generous person who had many friends.
“This morning I had my cry out,” she said. “We talked at the Irving gas station in Lunenburg about a month ago and he said he had an awesome girlfriend and he was happy to be fishing. “
She said she and Bishop were among a close-knit group of friends. Every summer they swam together at Becks Lake, Lunenburg County.
“He was always there for me and always had a smile on his face. But he always seemed to get mixed up with the wrong people.
“He takes no crap. He might have said something to the wrong person and stood up for himself. But as far as drugs or anything like that, he stayed away from it because of his upbringing.
“Who knows what happened? It’s just so terrible.”
