Rasbert Turner and Robert Lalah, Gleaner Writers
The old Spanish Town Courthouse ablaze after the death of Andrew 'Bun Man' Hope yesterday. - IAN ALLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
AN ALL-out riot broke out in Spanish Town, St. Catherine, yesterday, after the reputed leader of one of the most notorious criminal gangs in the country was shot and killed in the Old Capital.
Andrew 'Bun Man' Hope, who was allegedly the head of the 'One Order' gang, was shot and killed along Ellis Street, near to the Spanish Town High School about 2:30 in the afternoon.
CHAIN REACTION
The killing set off an immediate chain reaction. Within minutes, angry residents of Tawes Pen and Ellerslie Pen flocked Ellis Street and swarmed the Honda motor car in which Hope had been shot.
After seeing the man's body, the mob blocked adjoining roads and set fire to the old courthouse at the corner of Young and Wellington streets. Fire fighters who arrived on the scene were chased away by the protestors who hurled rocks and other missiles at them.
Meanwhile members of the crowd looted the building, making off with sofas, a refrigerator and other electrical equipment. By the time the fire fighters were able to return to the scene, the building was destroyed. About seven motor vehicles parked on the compound of the old court house were also set ablaze and the crowd pulled one of the burning cars on to the roadway.
The police confirmed last night that Uriah Matthews, caretaker for the Court's premises was shot several times and then thrown into the fire. Matthews had operated a business on the premises.
As news of Hope's death spread across the town, additional roadblocks were mounted. Brunswick Avenue, the Old Harbour Road and Twickenham Park roads were all blocked. The access road to Highway 2000, leading from the Old Harbour Road round about was also blocked.
Sporadic gunfire rang out all across the town.
School administrators sent students home early and businesses pulled their shutters.
Even as the police and military increased their presence in the town, the cat and mouse game continued. Almost every time a roadblock was cleared, it was soon remounted by residents.
By nightfall, the Spanish Town police station and its environs along Burke Road were transformed into a massive waiting area, as thousands of stranded commuters waited for some way to get home. Taxi and bus operators had earlier withdrawn their services, as they fled the riotous environment.
Last night there was a huge traffic pile up along Highway 2000 as motorists tried to avoid the troubled town.
Up to press time last the security forces were maintaining a strong presence in the area.
