Grange Hill residents call for enhanced security measures

WESTERN BUREAU:

A HEIGHTENED level of fear has gripped residents of Grange Hill in Westmoreland to the point that they are now calling for a state of public emergency (SOE) or zone of special operations (ZOSO) to restore law and order to their once peaceful community.

That call comes on the heels of a series of murders and allegations of a threat to shoot up at least one educational institution in the community.

“We need to get a state of emergency or a zone of special operations back in Grange Hill, this is the only way these murders and threats are going to stop,” said a 35-year-old resident who, in light of what’s happening in the space, asked that her identity be withheld.

She said it’s not fair for her, her children and other citizens to have to watch their back when going about their business.

“To make matters worse, my children were forced to stay home today because of a reported threat to shoot up their school,” the Grange Hill resident stated.

Supporting the call for soldiers to be placed in the community on a more sustained basis, a male resident who identified himself as a poultry farmer and who spoke to our news team from behind his curtain out of fear of revealing his identity argued that the surge in shootings and murders can only be mitigated with social intervention through a ZOSO or the SOE.

“We need the Government to send out more military people because this can be settled much better,” the Grange Hill male farmer said, pointing out that if help doesn’t come now, the issues could escalate.

For the past two days, approximately 1,700 students who are enrolled at both Grange Hill Primary and Grange Hill High schools were affected when they were either collected by their parents, out of fear, or sent home as a precaution after some parents of Grange Hill Primary School claimed that gunmen threatened to shoot up the 100-year-old institution.

“It’s not a good feeling and it’s not a good look either because it’s been a while we have not seen anything like this,” the farmer said.

He added: “This is one of the worst and we think that we need some serious help. We need help because when you see the kids have to go home because of the threat at their school, the whole place looks like when you are watching a scary movie.”

Grange Hill is now under a murderous siege as five men have been killed in the gang feud between the infamous Kings Valley Gang and the emerging Ants Posse Gang.

Lottery scam

The criminal gangs are locked in battle for the spoils of criminal activities largely from the lottery scam. Their presence and deadly impact on the community have attracted the attention of the security forces, who have since dispatched additional resources to restore calm, law and order.

In relation to the allegations of gunmen issuing a threat to shoot up the Grange Hill Primary School, head of the Area One Police, Assistant Commissioner of Police Clifford Chambers, has dismissed that claim.

“We have been hearing about it and my intelligence, my informant, my investigators, no one can confirm that any such threat was issued, so I have to come out and say we have not received or are acting on any such threat,” Chambers declared.

However, he confirmed that a student from Grange Hill Primary School was injured in a shooting on a vehicle by gunmen that morning.

“We know that a vehicle was shot up with a student in it, amongst other persons. And the student attends that school and that did not even happen in close proximity to school,” he explained.

Stemming from that shooting, Chambers said school resource officers were deployed to both the Grange Hill Primary School and the Grange Hill High School.

Clayton Smith, principal of the Grange Hill Primary School, said parents rushed to collect their children out of fear.

“The word that I got were that they were going to shoot up the Grange Hill Primary School. I am not certain why that may be the case,” Smith told The Gleaner on Tuesday, before dismissing classes for the rest of the day.

“We saw a rush of parents as evidence of the threat was sent, not to us at school but to parents, and by the time we got settled, parents were coming to take their children,” the principal said.

In the meantime, the Westmoreland police have identified seven gangsters who they have listed as persons of interest.

“We are targeting the Kings Valley Gang and we are asking any one who has information about Demar ‘Heavy D’ Thomas, Romaine ‘Barthez’ Murray, and Lashawn ‘Doduman’ Warren to call the police at 311, or 811,” Chambers told The Gleaner on Tuesday.

“We are also looking for persons from the other warring faction known as the Ants Posse Gang, Orlando ‘Bolo’ Reid, Charles Dixon, Teniel ‘Grabba’ Whyte, and Leon Grayson,” the ACP said.

“We are interested in these persons because we are of the view that they can help us in our investigations and can help to bring back the level of normalcy and calm in the space,” pleaded Chambers.

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