Student shot in Granville, residents want ZOSO
Published:Monday | September 10, 2018 | 12:00 AMHopeton Bucknor/Gleaner Writer
Western Bureau:
UNDER PRESSURE from marauding gunmen who have been shooting up their community, including Sunday night's incident in which a female student was wounded, residents of Gordon Crescent in Granville, St James, are appealing to the authorities for a zone of special operations (ZOSO) to be declared in their community.
Fresh from last week's incident in which one of St James' most wanted men, 31-year-old John 'Gaynor Blacks' James, was murdered in the community, the area came under gunfire Sunday night when attackers shot a 15-year-old female student of St James High School and a 23-year-old man.
"We want a ZOSO in Granville right now ... these are crucial times," said Jeneve Brown, a concerned resident.
Little girl killed
"Just a few weeks ago, a little girl was shot and killed in Retirement and now the gunman them come shoot up this yard in Gordon Crescent," she said
According to reports, shortly after 7 p.m., the 23-year-old man, who the police have not identified, had just finished assisting his mother at a shop in his yard when armed men alighted from a motor car and attacked him, firing several shots. The man was shot multiple times. The female student, who was standing in the yard, was shot and injured.
The injured man and the student were rushed to Cornwall Regional Hospital, where the student was treated and released and the man admitted in critical condition.
"The state of emergency (SOE) nah frighten dem yah gunman. Dem a lick shot same way," said a resident. "We want a ZOSO fi lock down Granville like how Mt Salem lock down. If dem nuh do dat that, all a we go dead off."
Joseph Williams, the principal of St James High School, said the news of the shooting of the student, who is in grade 10, has left the school family in shock.
"This is a very unfortunate situation," said Williams, who told The Gleaner that the injured student was an outstanding netballer. "We can at least take comfort in the fact that she is not in a critical state. We are praying that she will recover fully."