Two guards shot dead in western Ja
Published:Tuesday | February 28, 2023 | 1:13 AMAdrian Frater/Acting News Editor
WESTERN BUREAU:
Two security guards were killed in separate incidents in western Jamaica on Monday, one in a shooting at a popular plaza in Negril, Westmoreland, and the other along Strand Street in the heart of downtown Montego Bay in St James.
In the incident in Negril, which a police source has labelled as a case of mistaken identity, 25-year-old Dellon Harding, of Seaton Crescent, in Savanna-la-Mar, was shot dead and a colleague seriously injured.
According to reports, shortly after 5 a.m., a police team, which was reportedly responding to reports of a robbery in the vicinity of Sunshine Village Complex in Negril encountered the two guards, who were reportedly sitting in a car.
It is unclear what transpired, but both Harding and his colleague were shot.
In a statement, the management of the complex, where the two guards are employed, said they are anxiously awaiting the police’s account of the incident as they are contending that the guards were unarmed.
Harding was described as “a dedicated, long-standing, and valued security officer”.
His injured colleague reportedly suffered multiple gunshot wounds and remains hospitalised.
While efforts to reach Senior Superintendent Wayne Joseph, police commander for Westmoreland, were futile, a police source told The Gleaner that they fear that it was a case of mistaken identity, although he was not able to say what could have triggered the shooting.
In the Montego Bay incident, 43-year-old Duane Harcourt Russell, of Bamboo district, Hanover, was shot dead by a lone gunman.
Russell, who was seemingly coming from work, as he was clad in his uniform pants and a T-shirt, was walking along Strand Street, shortly before 2 p.m., when a lone gunman reportedly ran up behind him and shot him in the head. He died on the spot.
News of Russell’s death shook his home community, where his family and other residents said he was well-loved and respected.
“This news is heartbreaking for the community. His family is well-known and respected in the community and he and his brothers are all decent law-abiding citizens,” a resident told The Gleaner. “The community has lost a fine young man, who had a very bright future.”
Since the start of this year, St James has recorded 24 murders, which matches the figure for the same period in 2018, which is the lowest in over a decade.