Stephanie Elliott, Gleaner Writer
A FAMILY of seven is lucky to be alive after narrowly escaping an attack by gunmen on their home on Russell Lane in Palmers Cross, Clarendon. The family home was fired on by gunmen on December 23 and the house set on fire.
Pasha Lindsay, one of the family members, told The Gleaner that the incident occurred before 10 p.m. after the family had gone to bed.
According to Ms. Lindsay, while they slept she was awakened by a loud explosion, and immediately grabbed her four children from their beds and put them to lie down on the floor. Afterwards, a tenant in the front room of her house alerted her to a blaze at her room window which they worked feverishly to extinguish.
FAMILY SHAKEN
Ms. Lindsay said that since the incident occurred, her family has been quite shaken and are puzzled as to why they were targetted.
"We an' nobody nuh have nothing!" she declared.
She said that her grandmother who lives at the home has since been relocated and is living with other relatives. In the meantime, the family's 81-year-old tenant, Louise Russell, is still in shock in the wake of the incident.
"I wake up and smell the kerosene oil and realised that the floor of the room was full of kerosene oil. Then the fire start," Ms. Russell explained.
Ms. Russell said she made an alarm and opened her room door that led to the verandah. She said she saw a person's image and immediately closed her door at the same time. At this time, she realised that her window curtains were on fire and quickly pulled them down, but soon, several other pieces of clothing and her bed pillows were also set ablaze. Eventually, she got the fire under control, however, gunmen began to fire at the house.
GOD SAVE MI
"Mi bawl, mi bawl feh help, help and fire, cause mi believe seh mi did a go dead. Ah God save mi, cause them just come through the house suh," she exclaimed.
Residents of the area also disclosed that a similar incident had taken place in the community the previous Saturday, forcing another family to flee for their lives. A car, they said, was also torched during the incident.
The May Pen police has confirmed both reports and said that an investigation is being conducted into the matter. They were unable to confirm if the incident was linked to an ongoing gang feud between gang members of Juno Crescent and Sevens Road, otherwise known as "Farm".
"Word is out on the street that one of the gang members resides in the community that the incident took place and is being sought by the culprits, but that has not been confirmed," said a police source who spoke on condition of anonymity.
