Five days after a man was shot and killed while intervening in a St. John's armed robbery, Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Chief Bill Janes has spoken publicly about the unsolved homicide.

"Certainly, we offer our condolences to Mr. Wellman and his family for their terrible loss," said Janes at a news conference Thursday.

Janes was present with Minister Susan Sullivan at Confederation Building to address the release of a report into the sex trade that was once deemed too risky to be made public.

After several minutes of answering questions on that topic, the scrum switched to the recent death of retired firefighter Larry Wellman, who died after he was shot while intervening in an armed robbery at the Captain's Quarters Hotel late Saturday night.

When asked if Janes could provide assurances to the public about their safety in the wake of Wellman's killing, Janes simply answered, "No."

Instead, Janes referred inquiries on the case to the force's media relations officer, Const. Steve Curnew.

Wellman, 63, died en route to hospital, after being shot by an unknown man who was robbing the east end hotel.

Numerous searches have been conducted in relation to the case and the RNC has released a photo of the man responsible for the homicide.

However, no suspects have yet been identified.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call a dedicated tiip line: 729-8800.