Double murder shatters fragile Grange Hill peace

Western Bureau:

The fragile peace that has been holding in Grange Hill, Westmoreland, since a major police-military crackdown against criminal gangs in March, was broken on Wednesday with the double murder of two teenagers outside a nightclub in the community.

The deceased teenagers have been identified as 15-year-old Jael-Jay Tomlinson, of Burnt Savannah district in Frome, also in Westmoreland; and 18-year-old Ramesh O’Connor, 18 years old, of a Frome address. A third teenager of a Frome address was shot and injured in the same incident.

Grange Hill has been a hot bed of violence over many years, but earlier this year, the lawlessness intensified, with several murders sparked by the bloody feud between the King Valley gang and the emerging Ants Posse gang over turf and the spoils from criminal activities.

In Wednesday’s incident, reports are that about 3:00 p.m., the victims, along with a female friend, were travelling on two motorcycles from Hanover to Westmoreland when they stopped at the Uptionz Night Club and stood under the piazza to shelter from heavy rain.

While standing under the piazza, a lone man approached them and pulled a firearm from his waistband and opened fire on them. As they fell to the ground, the shooter retreated and then rode off on a waiting motorcycle towards Hanover.

“The one that got shot but was not killed must be the luckiest man in the world because the shooter had them cornered and they couldn’t run,” said a woman, who claimed to have witnessed the incident from close range.

“I don’t know what is wrong with these young men. They are so bloodthirsty, so heartless.”

Following the shooting, the police were alerted as a crowd gathered around the victims, seemingly trying to determine their identities.

“When we got there, Tomlinson and O’Connor were seen lying on the ground in pools of blood with gunshot wounds to their chest,” a police officer told The Gleaner. “The other youngster was also on the ground with bullet wounds to his chest, head, and right hand. Luckily for the female who was with them, she, somehow, escaped, unhurt.”

All three teenagers were rushed to the Savanna-la-Mar Public General Hospital by the police. Tomlinson and O`Connor were pronounced dead on arrival while the other man was treated and admitted in critical condition.

While murders are on the decline in Westmoreland, when last year’s statistics are matched over the comparative period this year, the 66 murders registered up to August 24 remain second only to the 90 registered by St James among the island’s 19 police divisions.

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