43 killed in 10 days By Glenroy Sinclair,
Staff Reporter
FORTY-THREE PEOPLE have been killed violently across Jamaica over the past 10 days 32 of them last week (between May 28-June 3). According to police records, 11 persons have been killed so far this week. This trend is a continuation of last month's when 94 persons were slain, making it the bloodiest month in Jamaica since 1997 when there were 97 reported cases of murder for that month. "The murders were scattered, 19 in the Metro area and 13 across the rural parishes," said Assistant Commissioner Osbourne Dyer, while responding to questions about the 32 murders in one week. Rural parishes such as St. Thomas, St. Elizabeth, Westmoreland and Clarendon all had more than one murder that particular week, with most of the bloodshed spilling over into West Kingston and South St. Andrew. Seven of the 32 murders occurred in West Kingston, where more than a dozen persons have been killed since April, following an upsurge of violence in that part of the city. Despite a curfew imposed in the area Tuesday night to restore calm, gunmen attacked and shot two men. One was pronounced dead at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) while the other was treated and sent home. The dead man has been identified as 29-year-old Michael Henningham of an Upper Oxford Street address, a porter at the KPH. Both were shot outside of the perimeter boundary that was under curfew. Police theorised that his death is linked to the upsurge of killings in the troubled community of West Kingston. Reports are that about 8:00 p.m. Henningham and another man were standing at a bus stop along Orange Street when they were shot by one of two gunmen. His death has pushed the number of persons killed since January to 403. A police spokesperson reported that of the 32 murders reported last week, nine were domestic-related, eight were reprisal killings, the motive in five was undetermined, four gang-related, another three drug- related. Three more cases were theorised as involving robberies. Under curfew While the security forces have put a lid on the escalating killings and bloodshed in the west end of the city, life is slowly returning to normal in sections of the area. Parts of the community were again under curfew last night. Yesterday more people were seen moving out of the area, while police and soldiers stood guard, manning the unofficial political border lines of Hannah Town, Denham Town and outside of the community. In July 1999 when 66 people were killed over a 17-day period, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson called out the army to help calm the troubled communities. Operation Intrepid was then launched to assist the police. The Prime Minister also gave the military wide authority to crack down on crime by imposing spot checks, cordons, house-to-house searches and curfews. In September last year again, the Government drafted another crime-fighting strategy to address the spate of killings across the country. The Crime Management Unit (CMU) under the leadership of Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams was given the task to target and disarm criminal gangs across the island and reduce the spate of violence.
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