Noel Thompson, Freelance WriterWESTERN BUREAU:
WILLIAM STREET in Montego Bay, St. James was a scene of chaos Thursday night when three men were shot just hours after gun-toting thugs shot four others in a daring pre-dawn attack.
Thursday night's incident occurred at approximately 9:30 when two gunmen shot 55-year-old taxi-operator, Leebert Alexander James, all over his body.
A 16-year-old boy, who was a passenger in the back seat of Mr. James' Toyota station wagon, was also shot, while a 27-year-old man, who was walking along St. James Street, was shot in the arm.
SHOT IN CAR
The St. James CCN liaison officer Peter Salkey said Mr. James, who plies the Montego Bay to Norwood route, was sitting in his car when two men walked up and opened fire.
The teenager fled the car after being shot while Mr. James drove off and crashed into a nearby wall. Investigators say they are following a number of leads including reports of attempts to extort money from taxi-operators who use the stand.
Hours before, at approximately 5:00 a.m., gunmen travelling in a white Toyota Corolla motor car opened fire hitting four men.
One of the men, identified as 'Grampa' and 'Ugly Man' of no fixed address, subsequently died.
The injured are 46-year-old Anthony Shirley, otherwise known as 'Small Axe,' of Church Hill Avenue in Flanker, Montego Bay; Dwight Earle, a 42-year-old musician of Paradise Crescent, also in Montego Bay; and Sean Ferron, a 28-year-old labourer of no fixed address.
According to reports from the Montego Bay CIB, 'Grampa,' Shirley, Earle and Ferron were standing along Orange Street in the city when three men pounced on them and opened fire, hitting them.
Dr. Horace Chang, Member of Parliament for North West St. James, has expressed concern about the increasing murder rate in the city, which he said can be attributed to the depressed state of adjoining communities.
Horace Peterkin, president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, told The Gleaner that major players in the sector are monitoring the upsurge in crime and will be meeting with the St. James police hierarchy to come up with a solution.
