A female resident of Fletchers Land, Central Kingston is arrested by the police after residents of the community demonstrated against the shooting of a man yesterday. Mayor of Kingston, Desmond McKenzie (second left), is in discussion with other members of the police team. - Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer
THE COUNTRY'S murder figures jumped further beyond the 1,000 mark with the killing of seven men in Spanish Town and Portmore in St. Catherine, Glendevon and Norwood in Montego Bay, St. James and in St. Andrew on Friday night.
Five others, including a 17-year-old schoolgirl and a physically challenged man were injured in the deadly incidents in Glendevon and Norwood.
The murders of 18-year-old Ricardo 'Ponal' Bell of Joan Avenue in Glendevon and O'Neil Thompson, a 26-year-old shopkeeper of Hendon, Norwood, have pushed the homicide figure for the parish of St. James to 102 for 2004. The police have withheld the names of the injured persons, citing security reasons.
Melford Clarke, a 55-year-old mason of Newlands, St. Catherine, was the man killed in Portmore, after he struggled with men who came to his businessplace and demanded money. But two who were murdered in Ellerslie Pen, Spanish Town, and two others in St. Andrew have not been identified.
The police said that residents of Churchill Avenue, Kingston 10, reported hearing explosions in the area about 7:30 p.m., and summoned them. On arrival the police found the body of one man with gunshot wounds behind the steering wheel of a white Toyota Corolla motor car, registered 5985 DU. Another man, whom it is believed was travelling in the vehicle, was found dead a short distance away.
The bodies of the men who were killed in Ellerslie Pen were found in bushes there after residents reported hearing several explosions. The bodies had multiple gunshot wounds.
INTERNAL CONFLICT
An internal conflict between gang members in Ellerslie Pen is what the Spanish Town police theorise to be behind the killings.
But while the police in Montego Bay have identified revenge as the motive for one of the shootings there, reliable sources have attributed it to gang war over turf.
Yesterday, The Sunday Gleaner contacted Superintendent John Morris, the officer responsible for the three-month-old St. James Crime Unit, which was established to stem the increase in criminal activity, particularly murders.
"We are not sure if one set of men is responsible for the shootings. We are analysing the incidents so as to get a better picture of what is happening and how to effectively address the matter," he said.
The shooting spree reportedly began about 10:45 p.m. when six armed men opened fire on a group of people at Joan Avenue in Glendevon. Bell died on the spot while the schoolgirl and a man in a wheelchair were transported to hospital where both were admitted. The physically challenged man is said to be in a serious condition.
In the second incident, a lone gunman shot and injured a man in Hollywood, Norwood. He is now a patient in hospital. Subsequent to that another man was shot on Blood Lane in Glendevon.
Later at 11:30 p.m., Thompson became the night's second fatality. He was killed when two men forced their way into his roadside shop at Garvey Square in Norwood. A second man was also wounded in the process. Four 9-mm and a .45 mm spent shells were found at that scene.
ROAD BLOCKS
Meanwhile, irate residents of Fletchers Land, Central Kingston, blocked a section of North Street yesterday to protest against what they claim was a case of police brutality.
According to the residents, 23-year-old Jermaine Richards was shot by the police while walking along Mark Lane in a section of the community about 10:30 a.m. One resident who claimed she witnessed the incident, explained that a friend called "Jermaine fi duh someting for him and him a come up di road when di police come up behind him. One a dem jump out and shoot him and when him shoot him Jermaine guh down and when him a try fi come up back him gi him one more shot." The angry resident denied the police's claim that a gun was taken from the man.
However, the police are disputing the resident's claim. The Constabulary Communication Network (CCN), the police's information arm, said the man was shot by a group of gunmen while walking along Mark Lane. The CCN said the man was taken to hospital by the police and is in a stable condition.
