Killer turns gun on others as accomplice shouts, ‘A di wrong man dat!’ - Two killed in night attack in deep rural Trelawny
Published:Tuesday | November 26, 2019 | 12:48 AMHopeton Bucknor/Gleaner Writer
Western Bureau:
Trelawny, one of the most peaceful parishes in western Jamaica, saw blood flowing through its streets on Monday night as two men were killed in a drive-by shooting in St Vincent district near Albert Town.
The dead men have been identified as 32-year-old Ricardo ‘Crab’ Williams, a farmer of Campbell’s Land, and 42-year-old Mark ‘Champs’ McHardy, also a farmer of Freeman’s Hall in Trelawny. A 50-year-old movie salesman was also hit during the attack and is battling for life in hospital.
When The Gleaner visited the community yesterday, the Reverend Nicholas Dixon, pastor of the St Vincent New Testament Church, was conducting a counselling session with relatives of the deceased men.
“It is very sad … . We never expected anything like this in this quiet community. I am now in my fourth year in this community, and this is my first experience with an incident of this nature,” he told The Gleaner.
“I am very close to Ricardo’s family. He was a hard-working member of the community. I hope the people will take this as a sign that it is time to unite,” Dixon added.
According to reports, about 12:15 a.m., the three men were among a group outside a nightclub in the community when a motor car drove up with two men aboard. One man alighted from the vehicle and opened fire at McHardy, hitting him several times.
The driver of the car was reportedly overheard shouting to the killer, “A di wrong man dat!”
At that point, the killer turned his weapon on Williams and the injured man, peppering them with bullets as residents looked on in disbelief.
Loraine Williams, whose brother died on the spot along with McHardy, described him as jovial, hard-working and peaceful.
“My brother Ricardo was one of the funniest persons I know. He was always at work, and even on Sunday night before he left the yard, he wanted me to accompany him to the club,” said the grieving sister.
“This community is relatively quiet and it is very unfortunate for such an incident to have taken place. We are urging residents to tell the police what they know,” said Superintendent Kirk Ricketts, the commanding officer for Trelawny.
Since the start of the year, 28 persons have been murdered in Trelawny. That figure matches the total killed in 2018 in what is considered the safest parish in the west.