Dog bite reportedly sparks murder
Bloody start to weekend as two killed, two injured in separate St James incidents
Published:Sunday | July 16, 2023 | 12:11 AMHopeton Bucknor - Sunday Gleaner Writer
At least four people, including a three-year-old infant, were shot in St James between Friday night and Saturday morning. Two of the victims succumbed to their wounds.
One of the incidents, which occurred in Mount Carey, is believed to have been triggered by a dog bite.
Reports are that about 9 a.m., a dog owned by 40-year-old Omar Nichols, a cleaner of Top Hill in the community, bit a resident and a dispute developed between them.
A man, who became aware of the incident and who is believed to be related to the injured person, reportedly went in search of Nichols. Upon seeing him, the man allegedly brandished a handgun and opened fire, hitting Nichols several times.
Nichols fell to the ground, and his attacker reportedly hit him in the head with a stone before fleeing the scene.
When the police were summoned, they discovered Nichols lying in blood with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
About 11:45 a.m., 56-year-old farmer Delroy Morris, otherwise called ‘Man’, of an Old Road address in Flamstead, was shot by two men armed with handguns who invaded his home.
In the third incident, which unfolded on Friday night about 8 p.m. in Chatham, a lone gunman reportedly kicked open the door of a home and opened fire at a 38-year-old labourer, his girlfriend, and their three-year-old son.
The terrified couple reportedly ran from the house leaving the infant, who was in bed.
The child was later discovered with gunshot wounds to the head and right arm, and the father had been shot in the chest and hand. They have been taken to a medical facility.
The latest police crime figures, which show incidents up to July 8, reveal 105 murders in St James for 2023. This is 10 fewer victims – or a decline of 8.7 per cent – than over the corresponding period in 2022.
Fifty-three shootings were also recorded in the parish up to July 8 this year, down from the corresponding 62 incidents in 2022.
The statistics show that 700 murders were recorded islandwide up to July 8, with St James the only parish with more than 100 homicides. Westmoreland followed next with 65, while St Andrew South had 64.