Cops probe Stony Hill murder as St Andrew North killings jump 180%
Published:Thursday | February 13, 2020 | 12:27 AMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter
The St Andrew North police have launched a probe into the circumstances surrounding the murder of a man and injuring of four persons in Stony Hill Square yesterday morning amid a worrying spike in violence across the division.
The dead man, 26-year-old Shamari Horace Waul, was on his way to work when he was pounced upon by armed men who opened fire, hitting him several times.
He died on the spot.
The injured persons were bystanders and a motorist who was shot twice while driving his daughter to school.
Reports from the police are that two gunmen walked up to a crowd of people standing along the roadway in Stony Hill Square about 6:30 a.m. and opened fire before escaping on foot.
The injured persons received injuries ranging from gunshot wounds to the neck, arm, leg, and chest.
Yesterday’s murder and shooting in the community square caused several businesses to close their doors all day.
Several business operators raised concerns about the incidence of violent crime and are calling on the police to increase their presence.
Detective Inspector Karen Salmon, who is in charge of crime, told The Gleaner that the police are out there working.
“I can assure the business persons as well as residents that the police are still out there. The police are here to serve, protect, and reassure the people of Jamaica, and, basically, that’s what we are doing,” Salmon told The Gleaner.
The crime chief disclosed that just yesterday, the police recovered an illegal firearm – a 9mm pistol along with two magazines containing 15 rounds – in the troubled Park Lane area of Red Hills Road.
Red Hills Road, which falls under the St Andrew North Police Division, has recorded several violent incidents in recent months, the latest being a murder on Monday evening.
Up to February 6 this year, there were 14 murders, a 180 per cent increase from the five in the previous year. Shootings have more than doubled – from six to 13.