West bleeds again

Western Bureau:

It was a bloody 24 hours in western Jamaica between 5:00 p.m. on Sunday and 10:00 a.m. yesterday as marauding gunmen unleashed terror on the region with a double murder and a single murder in St James, and a double murder in Hanover.

In Hanover, which has accounted for 27 of the 86 murders committed in the two parishes since the start of the year, Superintendent Sharon Beeput, the parish’s police commander, is urging residents not to panic but to remain resolute and support the efforts of the police to blunt lawlessness and restore order to the parish.

“I want to encourage residents of Hanover not to panic but work closely with the police to rid the various communities of criminal elements because we have far more decent law-abiding citizens than criminals,” said Beeput.

“Just tell us where the criminals are, we will do the rest.”

The carnage in the region started about 5:00 p.m. along Bamboo Drive in Hopewell, Hanover. Two men armed with handguns walked into a business establishment operated by 52-year-old Claudette Samuels, of Zion Road in Hopewell, and opened fire. Samuels was killed on the spot, while 17-year-old Shari Distin, a student of Bamboo district, who was shot inside a passing motor vehicle, later died in hospital. Two other persons suffered bullet wounds.

In St James, the first of the three persons killed yesterday was a man identified only as ‘Scubba’. According to reports, about 10:00 a.m., he was standing at the Charles Gordon Market when he was pounced upon by unknown assailants, who shot him multiple times. He was rushed to the Cornwall Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Shortly after 10:00 a.m., Mt Salem, which is the home of the nation’s first zone of special operations (ZOSO), which was declared in 2017 and has been in place ever since, was the scene of a brazen double murder, which left residents stunned.

According to reports, a group of men were standing at the intersection of Crawford Street and the Mount Salem main road, when they were ambushed by men armed with handguns, who opened fire on them. When the shooting subsided, it was discovered that Gavin ‘Butty’ Mills, whose age is unknown, and 35-year-old pineapple vendor Jamie Lawrence, who was selling pineapples from his Townace bus, were both dead, having been hit by multiple rounds.