Family homeless after house shot up, razed in early-morning attack
Published:Sunday | February 20, 2022 | 12:11 AMHopeton Bucknor - Sunday Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Six members of a Westmoreland family are now homeless and a manhunt launched for a man who is believed to have set their house on fire, minutes after he fired several shots on the dwelling.
The incident occurred shortly after 2 a.m. yesterday, while the family was asleep inside the board and concrete structure at a section of the Belvedere community called Scott Land in Bethel Town.
According to reports, in the wee hours of the morning, the family heard gunfire inside their yard, some of the bullets piercing the house. Minutes later, they were forced to run from the dwelling after it was set on fire. All its contents were destroyed.
The arsonist also set fire to a Toyota Voxy minivan and a Toyota Corolla motor car parked inside the yard, completely destroying them.
The Sunday Gleaner visited the community yesterday morning and spoke with Paul Crewe, who shared that his daughter, her two children, his nephew’s girlfriend and their son were inside the house at the time of the incident.
The 73-year-old mason, who resides in a separate house inside the yard, said he was awoken by the gunshots and, minutes later, he heard his daughter calling out to him that they were being fired upon and that the house was on fire.
“A me build the house with mi bare hands fi mi daughter an mi nephew, an mi shock fi know seh a dis come happen, an dem could easily lose dem life,” Crewe said, still in a state of shock.
“Mi did inna mi deep sleep wen mi hear the gunshots dem, but after that, when mi hear mi daughter a call out to mi an a tell mi seh dem a shoot after dem, a me haffi rescue dem. After di shooting dun, wi call the fire station an di police and one fire truck come up yah come out di fire.”
He continued, “Mi nephew was not home at the time, only mi daughter, her children dem, mi nephew girlfriend, and his son, an a mi haffi save mi daughter life, an mi tell har not fi come out a di house till di police dem com. After dat, a dem escort har weh.”
He said his daughter is now in fear for her life and has relocated as a safety precaution.
Superintendent in charge of the Westmoreland Fire Division, Rudolph Seaton, told The Sunday Gleaner that one unit from the Savanna-la-Mar fire station responded to the call.
“On arrival, one board dwelling and all its contents were completely destroyed, along with a Toyota Voxy valued at $2.5 million,” Seaton stated.
“We cannot say for sure it is a case of arson, but I can safely say it is a suspected case of arson,” he said, adding that investigations will immediately commence into the incident.
Police officers attached to the Bethel Town Police Station recovered a number of spent shells from the scene.
One senior cop from the parish of Westmoreland told The Sunday Gleaner that the police are now seeking two men, one of whom is a boyfriend of one of the homeless victims, for questioning.
The investigator said that the boyfriend is a known violence-producer currently facing gun-related charges in the Bethel Town policing area and is out on bail.