Dad and toddler slaughtered in St James
Published:Wednesday | November 4, 2015 | 12:00 AMAdrian Frater
Western Bureau:
A one-year-old child and his father were shot and killed in Flamstead in deep rural St James on Tuesday night, leaving the community traumatised.
"This is a sad day for Flamstead ... . We know about farming and caring for our families, not about murders," a resident told The Gleaner.
"It must take a very sick person without a heart or a soul to slaughter a baby like that."
Those killed have been identified as 31-year-old Kemoy Green and his son, Alljaye.
Both suffered multiple gunshot wounds and died on the spot.
"Since the killing, we have heard rumours that the father was involved in a feud, but we don't know about that," the resident told The Gleaner. "We are hoping that the police find the killers and remove them from among us ... . We don't want any more murders in Flamstead."
Senior Superintendent of Police Steve McGregor, the commanding officer for the St James Police Division, said based on information gathered by the police, they have reason to believe the deceased was involved in a dispute with other men from the community.
According to residents, shortly after 8 p.m., they heard several loud explosions coming from a section of the community called Jackson Road. On investigation, they found the dead father on his back, with the lifeless toddler in his arms.
Since the start of the year, several children have been murdered by gunmen in St James.
In a particularly gruesome incident in March, an eight-year-old was among four persons slaughtered gangland-style in the Richmond Hill community in Bickersteth.
Earlier this year, McGregor, who was brought to the parish to help stem the runaway incidents of murders, said St James was somewhat unique, noting that the murders were caused by lifestyle issues.
"In St James, the majority of the murders that are occurring are lifestyle-related. A man has an issue with his brother and cuts him on the wrist, and the brother takes the knife and cuts his throat and kills him," McGregor told The Gleaner earlier this year.
"Those are the kinds of situations we are faced with here in St James."