Student among three persons shot in Falmouth

WESTERN BUREAU:

A 13-year-old student of Muschett High School in Trelawny is now nursing bullet wounds in hospital after he and two men were shot and injured by a masked gunman in Falmouth, the parish's capital, yesterday morning.

Speaking with The Gleaner in the aftermath of the shooting, Superintendent Dwight Powell, the commanding officer for the Trelawny police, said that based on initial investigation, the injured student was not the target of the attack.

"The student was not the target but was in close proximity," said Powell. "We are in the process of conducting some counselling sessions with the parent of the 13-year-old as well as with the student population at his school."

According to reports, shortly after 6:15 a.m., the teen was walking along George's Street in Falmouth when he saw a man, who was armed with a handgun, chasing another man and firing shots. He was shot and injured before he could take cover.

The man who was being chased a 38 year-old linesman who is employed to the Falmouth Cruise Shipping Pier - and a 50-year-old bus operator also suffered bullet wounds and were hospitalised.

"This is the first incident of this kind that has occurred here in Falmouth in the many months that I have been here," said Powell. "The investigations are ongoing, and I am appealing to any person who may have information on this incident to bring it to our attention."

The man, who the police believe was the target of the attack, suffered bullet wounds to his arm, buttocks, and pelvis. The student was shot in the region of the groin while the transport operator was shot in the shoulder.

Following the shooting, the gunman reportedly ran to a waiting motor car, which sped away from the scene.