The Filipino community is grieving the loss of a countryman who died after being shot with an air rifle during a chicken cull.

Ryan Cortez, 42, passed away after he received serious head injuries in the incident last week.

Police said Mr Cortez, a Filipino national, had been riding a motorcycle in Pembroke when a pellet from an air rifle struck him as he drove along Hurst Crescent at about 5.20pm on October 14.

Mr Cortez, who worked as a spray painter at Busby’s Paint and Autobody Shop, moved to Bermuda about five years ago to work at the Pembroke establishment.

Kevin Busby, the owner of the business, said Mr Cortez lived a simple life and did not venture out much. He added: “He was mainly between home and work.”

The father, who has an eight-year-old girl, was a regular at Sunday Mass at St Theresa’s Cathedral in Hamilton.

Mr Busby said: “He was a very hard working, religious, family man. He was very respectful and his death leaves a huge void.

“We’ve never had an issue with him — he would always come and say ‘Boss what’s next?’

“Ryan was an asset to the company. He was the fifth and the last foreign worker we hired and honestly, he was one of our best because he was very skilled.

“The community will miss him. His workmates here are feeling it because, understandably, they are working at about 30 per cent today because of what happened.”

Mr Busby, a veteran in the auto paint business, said Mr Cortez always “gave more than 100 per cent” on the job.

He said the workshop was more than just a place of employment. “We are like a family here; we would hang out, have dinner,” he added.

“These guys lived together and he would cook some days for the guys, so it’s a loss that will obviously shake them.”

Mr Busby said Mr Cortez’s wife has been distraught since the incident, as he recounted the close bond he shared with her and their young daughter.

“He would be on video calls with them right here and I never had an issue because it’s his family,” he added.

He said Mr Cortez’s passing came as he and four of his workmates were preparing to travel back to the Philippines for Christmas.

“It was the first time we arranged this for them to be away at the same time and they were looking forward to it.”

He said the incident had affected the morale of the man’s colleagues to such an extent that they were using another route to leave work.

Recounting the incident, Mr Busby said Mr Cortez had just finished working for the day and rode off a few yards from the shop when he was struck by the pellet from an air rifle.

Mr Busby's son ran up the street after he saw the injured man on the ground being helped by another bystander.

At first, he said his son thought it was a road accident but noticed that Mr Cortez’s bike was on its stand.

He said Mr Cortez had an injury to his face and after EMTs responded, it was determined that he had sustained a gunshot wound.

A man who was culling chickens in the area was arrested while the scene was cordoned off.

The injured man was taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital where doctors performed scans.

Mr Busby said he had been on hand ever since Mr Cortez was taken to KEMH and made arrangements to contact his wife.

He added: “He was in the ICU and I held his hand and I was talking to him but he wasn’t responding. It was very hard to deal with.”

Mr Busby said arrangements were being made to return the man’s body to the Philippines to honour his wife’s wishes.

Meanwhile, Ryan De Jesus, the president of the Association of Filipinos in Bermuda, said the organisation was still coming to grips with Mr Cortez’ death.

“We are grieving at the moment — it was heartbreaking, he was very simple,” Mr De Jesus said.

Police reported that a man was taken into custody after the chicken cull tragedy and that the weapon involved had been seized.

Darren Simons, the Commissioner of Police, said earlier that an approved contractor had been using the weapon to target pest birds in the area when the victim was struck, in what early indications suggested had been “a tragic accident”.

The man was arrested in connection with the incident and had his firearms licence revoked before being released on police bail.