Mon | May 13, 2024

Murders mar holy season

Published:Saturday | April 11, 2020 | 12:20 AMHopeton Bucknor/Gleaner Writer
Leroy Laing, pastor of the Pentab Tabernacle in Kingston, preaching to an almost empty church on Good Friday, as only 10 members turned up in keeping with government stipulations to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Pastor Laing says they streamed the sermon live to members who stayed at home.
Ian Allen
Leroy Laing, pastor of the Pentab Tabernacle in Kingston, preaching to an almost empty church on Good Friday, as only 10 members turned up in keeping with government stipulations to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Pastor Laing says they streamed the sermon live to members who stayed at home.

The community of Hendon in Norwood, St James, yesterday erupted in violence after gangsters carried out a bloody drive-by, killing two men and injuring another, less than two hours before the all-island COVID-19 curfew took effect.

A day before, on Holy Thursday, five people were murdered, four within a six-minute period moments before a 8 p.m. nationwide curfew began. The murders occurred between 7:50 and 7:56 p.m.

Besides the shooting death of Excelsior vice-principal Colleen Walker shortly after 5 p.m., Christopher Frazer, 32, was killed in a gun attack in Caymanas Estate. A woman was also injured.

Two men, Shanardo Gaynor, 21, and Omar Beckford, 29, were shot and killed at a playing field in Parry Town, St Ann. And Clifton Madourie, 37, was murdered in Hopewell, Hanover.

In yesterday’s Norwood shooting, the dead men have been identified as 33-year-old Dane Walters, a farmer of Beverley Hills, and 48-year-old Roderick Atkins, a construction worker who both lived in the community.

A third man, who was also shot and injured during the attack, is at hospital in critical condition.

Reports by the police are that about 1:26 p.m., Atkins, Walters and the injured man were among a group of persons sitting along the roadway in the vicinity of Docatone Square in Hendon, Norwood, when two motor cars drove up.

A group of heavily armed men alighted from both vehicles and opened fire on the crowd, hitting all three persons then sped away.

Had to run for his life

The police were summoned and the wounded men taken to hospital, where Walters and Atkins were pronounced dead, and the other man admitted in serious condition.

One man told The Gleaner that he was on the same road where the shooting took place and had to run for his life.

“MI boss mi did up the road when mi see the two car drive up, and about four men wid gun jump out,” the resident said.

“Next thing mi know a pure shot start fire, and everybody haffe run fi dem life. Mi run cum straight a mi yard, and wen mi reach mi hear seh the two bredda dem get shot, and one inna hospital,” he recounted.

The resident said that many persons were in shock at the brazen attack by the gunmen in an area that was less than half-mile away from a temporary Jamaica Defence Force post in the community.