Clarendon crackdown - Victim’s family flees Effortville amid threats in wake of five murders; curfew imposed as police boost presence
Published:Saturday | December 19, 2020 | 12:14 AMOlivia Brown and Albert Ferguson/Gleaner Writers
WESTERN BUREAU:
Relatives of one of the victims killed in a spate of gun attacks in Effortville, Clarendon, on Wednesday night have since fled the community after reportedly being threatened that their house would be burnt to the ground, even as a curfew has been imposed on the area to restore a sense of calm.
Five people were killed and three others injured in the community between Wednesday and Thursday nights.
On Wednesday, about 9:30 p.m., gunmen opened fire on persons at a community square in Effortville, hitting four persons. Fifty-six-year-old Michael Henry, a taxi operator, and a man named Evel Mitchell were killed in that incident. All four were residents of Effortville.
Minutes later that night, another resident of the community, 48-year-old mother-of-three Janet Mundle-Reeves, was shot dead by gunmen.
Three persons, including a pregnant woman, were left nursing gunshot wounds.
On Thursday, about 7:30 p.m., gunmen opened fire on a couple who was walking home along the roadway in the community. They have been identified as 54-year-old Sonia Miller Taylor and Leroy Taylor, both of Effortville.
Missing motorcycle
Residents of Effortville had told The Gleaner that a missing motorcycle was believed to be at the heart of the bloody onslaught as some of the victims were quizzed by the gunmen about a bike on Wednesday before being led away and killed.
National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang yesterday announced a 48-hour curfew, which began at 5 p.m. yesterday, in Central Clarendon after seven persons, including a pregnant woman, were murdered in that section of the parish within a window of 48-hour window between Wednesday and Thursday.
A strong detachment of security personnel has been deployed to several areas, including the hotspot of Effortville.
Chang said that the murders were a result of escalating gang conflicts.
“We are now going to take steps to institute a security curfew beyond the Disaster Risk Management curfew and we are seeking the full support of the business community because we know it will disrupt commerce, but the gang war will do worse disruption to commerce,” the security minister said.
He said that the Bush Man Gang was at the root of the violence which has been rocking Central Clarendon, although there had been a significant degrading of this gang, noting that several members have been killed in combat with the security forces.
“But there are still a number of significant activists and supporters out there, who are well-armed and brutal in their approach,” said Chang, “We will be taking strong action and the security forces will seek to track down these murderous characters wherever they are, find them, apprehend and prosecute them.”
He said the curfew would be reviewed and could be extended beyond the 48 hours or otherwise amended.
Yesterday, Assistant Commissioner of Police Michael Smith, who is in charge of the police’s Area 3, visited relatives of the victims and toured the community. He described the killings as barbaric and senseless.
He reiterated that crime fighting required a partnership between members of the community and the police.
“Citizens need to decide which side they are on,” he told The Gleaner.
“Currently, we have a curfew enforced from 5 this evening (Friday) until 5 p.m Sunday. We have some other methods that we will be using to [boost] our investigative capabilities to give some assurance to the relatives that the men who committed these acts, ... we will find them because they need to have their day in court,” Smith added.
Head of the Clarendon police, Senior Superintendent Glenford Miller, told The Gleaner that the police are also probing the death of a man, whose body was found in the May Pen Market around 8 a.m. on Friday.
Investigators from the Criminal Investigation Branch and the Major Investigation Division have been assigned to assist detectives in the division as the investigations into the killings continue.