AT LEAST four persons were killed on the weekend in separate incidents.
Sections of the community of McIntyre Villas (Dunkirk) remained tense last night as the police tried to prevent rival gangs from reprisals for the killing of a man on Windward Road, Kingston, yesterday.
The man, Troy 'Bounty Fila' Thaxter, a 31-year-old deejay of Water Street, reportedly died on the spot. Another man was shot and injured during the incident, and was sent to hospital for treatment.
KILLED ON THE SPOT
According to the Constabulary Communication Network, at about 10:30 a.m. Thaxter was at a shop on Windward Road when he was reportedly approached by three men armed with handguns who shot him several times, killing him on the spot.
The police are stumped as to what could have triggered the killing.
NO FRICTION RECENTLY
"It is not a place where we've had any friction in recent times. We will be having increased mobile patrols in the area to go inside and reassure the citizens that their safety will be of paramount interest right now," said Detective Superintendent Calvin Benjamin, crime officer for Area Four Police.
Residents said there has been friction in the area since last week Monday, but they were unclear as to the reason. Given the history of the People's National Party-controlled area, which has been known for ongoing clashes, the residents are fearful, and anticipate that there will be reprisals.
DEATH IN STONY HILL
The Stony Hill police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a man, who was killed by another man whose house he allegedly broke into at Clarks Hill district.
One man was fatally shot and a firearm taken from him after he reportedly engaged the police in a shoot-out at Grants Pen, St. Andrew, on Saturday afternoon. The dead man has been identified only as 'Gregory Isaacs' of a Grants Pen address.
Another man, 33-year-old Leroy 'Stone Wall' Purcell, was shot in a yard at Wellington Street, Spanish Town, St. Catherine, at about 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Residents heard explosions and later found him suffering from gunshot wounds.
Yesterday's shootings pushed the number of persons killed violently to 576 so far this year.
