Sylvester Koroma

Sylvester Koroma was shot in the stomach at close range outside the Rainbow Warehouse nightclub at about 11.52pm on 10 August 2013.

He was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, but died eight days later on 18 August 2013, after having suffered catastrophic damage to his abdomen.

His cause of death was said to have been due to complications arising from the gunshot wound.

The police said that they thought that his shooting had been targetted and not a random shooting.

It was noted that Sylvester Koroma's friends that had been with him that evening had declined to give witness statements to the police. The police said that they had come up against a wall of silence and said that Sylvester Koroma's friends had deserted him in his death.

There had been a club night that night called Circoloco that was being attended to by about 4,000 people. Circoloco was a two-day dance festival. The second day of the event was cancelled after the shooting.

At Sylvester Koroma's inquest, the police said that they thought they knew who had shot him but said that without co-operation from witnesses they could do nothing. They said that as it stood, there was no realistic prospect of a prosecution.

They said that they had identified their main suspect through their investigation and then arrested him at a hotel in Birmingham with a female on the following Thursday. However, the police said, 'Unfortunately, we were unable to bring sufficient evidence to bear for the Crown Prosecution Service to bring a prosecution'.

During their investigation a total of eight people were arrested from across the Leicester area. However, they were all released without charge. Two of the suspects were arrested at the scene.

It was heard that medics at the event were warned, moments before the shooting, of a tense atmosphere in the club.

The police said that one possible motive was brought to light after rumours started to circulate that there had been a historic argument between Sylvester Koroma and the other people from Leicester and the police said that they thought the key to solving the case lay in Leicester.

It was noted that Sylvester Koroma had also been shot in 2002, and a man was tried for his attempted murder, but acquitted. However, the police said that they didn't think that the attempted murder was in any way linked to his murder.

Sylvester Koroma had had two children and was from Leicester. He was described as a large man who took fitness seriously.