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Gang feud blamed for drive-by double killing in Hannah Town

Published:Wednesday | November 30, 2022 | 12:11 AMSashana Small/Staff Reporter
Police personnel man a crime scene in Hannah Town, west Kingston, on Tuesday. Two men were killed in a drive-by attack.
Police personnel man a crime scene in Hannah Town, west Kingston, on Tuesday. Two men were killed in a drive-by attack.

An ongoing gang feud between the Upsetta Mafia and Super Star gangs operating out of Hannah Town in west Kingston is believed to have sparked the killing of two men in the community on Tuesday morning.

Twenty-eight-year-old Lance Thompson and 30-year-old Jevan Farquharson were reportedly gunned down in a drive-by attack on Oxford Street.

The shooting happened hours before the 14-day states of emergency (SOEs) were set to expire in the area and half the country’s parishes.

Police reports are that about 9:40 a.m., the victims were sitting on the roadway when a car drove up and three armed men alighted from the motor vehicle.

The assailants opened fire, hitting both men in the upper body before fleeing the scene.

The police were alerted and the men were transported to hospital where they were pronounced dead.

Tension has reportedly been brewing in the west Kingston community after a reputed gang leader was released from prison in July.

But even with the increased security presence, residents say the threat of death looms large and the latest killing has left them anxious.

“A this everybody a run from make dem stay inna di house ‘cause you never know weh it a go be,” one resident told The Gleaner, noting that anyone could have been killed.

Thompson and Farquharson, who were friends, were described by residents as jovial. Thompson was a father of two.

“A nuh di type a person dem fi go on wid no war. Dem a di type fi tell you fi done,” a resident said.

Both residents quoted requested anonymity.

With the lifting of SOEs at midnight on Tuesday, residents say they are dreading a retaliatory attack.

The Kingston West Police Division has reported 68 murders up to November 28, approximately 35 per cent, or 37, less than for the corresponding period in 2021.