A bike used when a young father was shot dead is believed to have patrolled at the scene about 30 minutes before the murder happened a year ago today, police said.

The vehicle was seen in the area of Tribe Road No 2 in Warwick on the night Jordan Outerbridge was killed.

Officers believe that the killing was a case of mistaken identity and although the rider of the bike and his passenger — understood to be the gunman — were thought to have gang links, it was understood that the victim had none.

Acting Detective Inspector Jason Smith said: “We have made some progress in this investigation but we are not complete yet.

“We do know that in particular there are area residents who might have seen the suspect vehicle prior to the shooting and we believe that, based on our investigation so far, that that suspect bike was patrolling up and down this street, this Tribe Road No 2, just prior to the shooting.

“In fact, our investigation leads us to believe that it was somewhere in the region of 10pm when this particular suspect vehicle was on this street.

“As we said earlier, Mr Outerbridge, we believe, was not the intended victim, so that makes this case even more interesting, that an innocent man would have lost his life leaving behind a wife and two kids.”

Mr Outerbridge had just finished playing cards and was heading home to his family when he was shot several times in the chest at about 10.30pm on April 6, 2021.

No one has been charged in connection with the incident but Mr Smith said that he believed members of the public could help police to wrap up the inquiry.

The detective explained: “We know for certain that there are persons in our community that have information critically and of vital importance to not only this investigation but other investigations.

“Your support makes a big difference in whether we can solve a case or the case goes unsolved.”

Mr Outerbridge, 37, was married with a daughter who was 18 months old at the time of his murder and a stepdaughter who was 11.

He worked at communications firm Link Bermuda and was well known and loved among his colleagues and family.

Mr Smith said: “Our investigative hypothesis is now that the suspects certainly are involved in a gang and that the intended target — not Mr Outerbridge but the intended target — has gang affiliations as well.”

The detective added that the intended target was not thought to be one of the people who was playing cards with the victim.

He said: “Our investigative hypothesis leads us to believe that we do have an idea as to who that person is.”

Mr Smith agreed that the past year had been “incredibly difficult” for Mr Outerbridge’s wife and family.

He said: “I have just recently, in the last couple of days, had several conversations with his wife.

“The family is still grieving.

“His daughter is now 2, so she is a year older, and one can only imagine that, as she grows older, that she will have more questions.

“What a difficult position that’s going to put her mother in, to inform her that her father, who was simply playing a game of cards with friends — something that he’d done on a regular basis — could have lost his life so tragically and innocently.”

Mr Smith said police hoped for more information from residents who heard the gunshots and saw or heard the bike leave the area.

He added: “That direction of travel after the bike left Tribe Road No 2, we believe, was turning right on Ord Road heading towards the golf course

“Then our investigation leads us to believe that that same bike would have travelled to the City of Hamilton.

“We do know that at the time of this shooting there was a curfew that was implemented at 11pm and so … if there was people on the streets who saw a bike driven in an erratic manner — we said previously that one of the riders had on a blue jacket — we are still interested in that.

“If you can do anything to help bring closure to the family of Mr Outerbridge, it would be greatly appreciated.”

Police told the public earlier that the rider of the motorcycle was dressed in dark clothing and both riders wore dark helmets.

Mr Smith said that several police units were involved in the investigation, including intelligence teams, forensic officers and parish constables.

He added: “As the investigation has progressed, we also have been in consultation with the Director of Public Prosecutions.”

Mr Smith said: “We do believe that we are narrowing down the investigation and that is why this appeal is that much more important, because anyone that has any information that can take us over the top to the point that we can have a discussion — or a serious discussion — with the Department of Public Prosecutions, that is our aim.”

He highlighted that assistance from residents helped authorities to take to court the case against Taaj Muhammad, who was convicted of murder in February.

Mr Smith added: “Almost every single case that we do take before the courts, we have community support. That’s how we get to that particular point.

“The Outerbridge case is no different.

“We need the community support to come out and to work with us so that we can help to solve these problems that we’re facing in our community.”

Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers anonymously on 800-8477 or Mr Smith directly on 717-0864.

The senior detective added that people can talk to community and church leaders who can contact police on their behalf.

Mr Smith said that more than 400 police officers and civilian staff were available to take calls or handle any information if it was passed on to them through personal contacts.