Bloody Sunday in MoBay - Murders climb to 310 as panic reigns

Western Bureau:

The out-of-control lawlessness that has been plaguing St James continues to claim victims with alarming regularity as three more persons were murdered on Sunday, bringing the parish's runaway murder count to 310, which is 46 more than last year's then record of 264.

The killings, a continuation of the mayhem that reigned last week when seven persons were murdered in the parish, started in Dapper Lane, in Glendevon, shortly after 8 a.m. A man identified as Romaine 'Blacks' Robinson was pounced upon by several heavily armed men, who shot him dead and then fled on foot in the community.

"A some terrible gun de man dem a fire," a Dapper Lane resident, who said the ground shook with each explosion, told The Gleaner. "A more than six man dem killed pon dis little lane since de year start ... . De pickney dem traumatised, no pickney nah play pon de street again."

Flanker gang war

Less than two hours after the Glendevon incident, the carnage moved to Flanker, where a gang war is raging between Central Avenue (Rifle Lane) and Hog City (Green Dot). Shortly after 10 a.m., a woman was shot and killed and her male companion injured. They had been cornered by armed thugs in a section of the community call Red Dirt who opened fire on them.

The dead woman, identified as 22-year-old Sherece Martin, of Hog City, and her male companion were shot multiple times but while she died on the spot, the other, victim survived his wounds and is now recovering in hospital.

"A Bobby girlfriend dem kill," a resident told The Gleaner, in reference to a man who was killed at the stop light in Flanker several months ago. "The place a run hot ... . The big question is who is next?"

Stop-light shooting

In the incident at the stop light, a car pulled up alongside the car in which Bobby was travelling. Its occupants opened fire on the car and sped away. The killing of the man, who residents say was an influential member of the community, caused a split among those who mourned his demise and those who celebrated it.

With crime-scene investigators on the ground in Flanker, news came through of yet another murder at the Green Pond Road-Salt Spring Road intersection. In that incident, which occurred at 11:30 a.m., 55-year-old taxi operator Derrick Bucknor, who is of a Glendevon address, was pounced upon by a lone gunman and cut down in a hail of bullets.

St James killings taking toll on police

With news of the multiple murders creating panic across the western city, on Sunday, at approximate 12:03 p.m., gunfire erupted along Mariam Way, just outside the Mt Salem zone of special operations. Forty-four-year-old Raymond Dias, of a Rose Heights address, was the victim in that incident.

According to reports, Dias and another other man were standing by the side of the road when a black Audi motor car pulled up alongside them. Several men alighted with guns drawn and opened fire on them. Dias was killed on the spot while the other man suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

"The crime-scene officers are suffering, they are just moving from crime scene to crime scene around the clock," a policeman told The Gleaner. "If these killings don't stop, some of them are going to drop down on the job ... it is really tough."

Within recent days, Montego Bay Mayor Homer Davis has been demanding that the authorities stem the bloodletting, saying the violence is poised to significantly disrupt commercial life in the city.