Gunfight at Glistening Waters - One dead, another injured during wedding reception
Published:Saturday | December 29, 2018 | 12:00 AMJanet Silvera
WESTERN BUREAU:
Guests had to flee in panic last Friday evening as gunshots rang out at a wedding reception at the Glistening Waters Hotel in Falmouth, Trelawny.
When the shooting ended, a disc jockey, 45-year-old Paul Campbell of Florence Hall in the parish, was dead, and one of the proprietors of the establishment, 38-year-old Earl Bernard of a Montego Bay address, was left nursing gunshot wounds.
Reports are that Campbell, who was employed by the wedding couple to provide entertainment for the reception, was asked to reduce the level of the music by Bernard's mother, but he refused, telling her she had already collected her money, so she was to allow him to earn his.
It is alleged that when the elderly woman went back to him with another request for the volume to be lowered, he aggressively pointed his finger into her face and again refused. Bernard then intervened, pushing Campbell away from his mother.
DJ opened fire
During the commotion, Campbell, who is a licensed firearm holder, reportedly fell over a flower pot. According to the reports, Campbell pulled his firearm and opened fire on Bernard, hitting him in the neck. Bernard fell to the ground and lay motionless as Campbell went over him with the gun.
Persons who claim to have witnessed the incident said Bernard, who is also a licensed firearm holder, then stood up and fired several shots, hitting Campbell multiple times. He died on the spot, while Bernard was taken to hospital where he was admitted.
Persons close to the couple who exchanged vows earlier in the day say they are traumatised by the incident which marred their special occasion.
Hopeton Bucknor also contributed to this story.