Call for ZOSO as Allman Town under siege
Published:Wednesday | January 20, 2021 | 12:10 AMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter
People’s National Party caretaker for the Kingston Central constituency, Imani Duncan-Price, is calling for a zone of special operations (ZOSO) to be installed in the violence-plagued community of Allman Town.
The appeal comes on the heels of Sunday’s triple murder in the capital.
Raheim Brown, 21, of John Street; Konee ‘Big Red’ Foster, 20, of Lord Elgin Street; and Marvin ‘Diamond’ Livingston, 20, of Prince of Wales Street, were shot and killed along Prince of Wales Street shortly after 7 p.m.
The ambush occurred two days after the murder of a senior citizen, also in Allman Town.
Ransford Tucker, 80, was shot and killed in his shop.
It was reported that about 8:10 p.m., Tucker was at his shop, where he also lived, on Robert Street when a lone gunman pounced on him and opened fire, hitting him.
Duncan-Price, who conducted a walk-through of Allman Town on Monday, said it was critical to give the police additional resources.
‘Deal with the Root Issues’
“Not just the police alone, we have to deal with the root issues that have been happening. While these two horrific incidents happened very closely together, we have had a spate of murders for the last six months across the entire constituency. It has just been drive-bys and shootings and murders and funerals, just ongoing,” the politician said.
Duncan-Price said the police have been conducting patrols, but called for more boots on the ground. That physical presence, along with social services personnel, would offer reassurance to residents and “build trust and engagement,” she said.
ZOSOs, a policy initiative twinning increased security presence with improved social services, have been hailed by the Government as key to breaking the back of the island’s crime woes. ZOSOs are currently in effect in Mount Salem in St James, and Greenwich Town and Denham Town in Kingston.
Councillor for the Allman Town division, Charmaine Daniels, who also walked the ground on Monday, is in support of a ZOSO declaration.
Livingston, one of the deceased, became a father nine days before he met his demise.
His aunt, Garcia Nembhard, told The Gleaner that he was a family person who repaired motorcycles.
“Him just have him baby, and the youth love baby. By 6 p.m., him normally inside with his baby, but his friends call him out and he came back outside. All now mi nuh say RIP, because mi can’t believe,” she said.
Nembhard said when she heard the explosions on Sunday, she took cover inside her house. The street of the death scene was stained with blood for several metres.
Detectives assigned to the Area Four Major Investigation Division have been tasked with probing the circumstances surrounding the triple murder. Seven people have been detained.
The Allman Town deaths were among 25 killings reported across Jamaica on the weekend.