Rasbert Turner, Gleaner Writer

Spanish Town, St. Catherine:

The murder of two men in Linstead, St. Catherine on Friday night resulted from gang violence, according to police.

Those shot and killed are David Hinds, otherwise called 'Sugar Black', a 30-year-old barber; and 25-year-old Christopher Marriott, both of Linstead, Rose Hall.

Police reports are that, about 10:30 pm, Hinds and Marriott were at a barber shop operated by Hinds along Gillette Street in Linstead when two men walked up to them, drew handguns from their waistbands, and fired several shots killing them on the spot.

According to a senior police investigator, the Linstead area has in recent times been plagued with gang violence fuelled by men from the two major gangs out of Spanish Town. The police said the killing of Hinds and Marriott was in connection to the ongoing gang feud.

According to Detective Sergeant Fitz Richards, Hinds had previously been in trouble with the law on gun-related charges, and that it has been theorised that the killing of the men was a reprisal.

The murder of the two men has brought homicide in St. Catherine to 138 since the start of the year, about 70 fewer than the corresponding period last year.