Five shot dead between Tuesday night and yesterday
BY KIMMO MATTHEWS Observer staff reporter [email protected]
Thursday, May 08, 2014
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This placard carries a strong message from residents of West Kingston who say they are tired of violence in their communities.
FIVE people were shot and killed in the Kingston Western Police Division between Tuesday and yesterday evening as gunmen continued their rampage in the city’s west end.
The first incident, police said, took place on Race Course Road about 9:20 Tuesday night when a man, identified as Gerrel Bravo, alias ‘Neiko’, of Upper Regent Street was shot dead by gunmen while driving his motor vehicle in the area.
Residents reported hearing loud explosions and alerted the police, who searched the area and found Bravo’s body slumped over the steering wheel of the vehicle.
Less than half an hour later, gunmen struck in Denham Town when a construction worker, identified as Vernon Vanzie, otherwise called ‘Buba’ and ‘Anthony’, was chased and shot dead while standing among a group of children on Metcalfe Street. While police were at that crime scene they were informed of another shooting, on Lincoln Crescent, where Kevin Black, a gas pump attendant, was shot several times as he stood outside a bar. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Two more murders were reported in the western section of the capital city yesterday evening. Details on yesterday’s killings were not immediately available but the Jamaica Observer was told by a police source that one man was shot and killed on Pink Lane and the other on Hannah Street.
The killings, based on Observer calculations, has brought to nine the number of people killed in West Kingston in the last five weeks.
Residents of the area said yesterday that they were worried about the upsurge in gun violence.
“Right now we are in fear; everyday there is another shooting [and] we don’t know who will be next,” said a female resident of Denham Town.
“These criminals [are] going after each other despite the presence of the police; we are worried,” said
another resident.
Other residents, meanwhile, claimed that the police have not been monitoring all sections of the troubled constituency. “The police are only pressuring over in Denham Town and not as much as in Tivoli Gardens,” claimed one resident.
Senior Superintendent Steve McGregor, head of the West Kingston Division, however, dismissed the claims. “The police are working hard to clamp down on the operations of the criminals anywhere they are located; there is no special place that we patrol,” McGregor told the Observer.
According to McGregor, while the police have made inroads in tackling crime in that troubled section of the city, some residents have made the work of the police difficult. “There are some residents who are helping the police but there are others who are providing safe havens for these criminals and places for them to hide [while] they carry out their deadly deeds,” said McGregor.
The police, he said, will continue to review their operations to keep pressure on the criminals in the area.
This is similar to the Wild Wild West, smh
Dem a gwaan bad, mi uncle sick wid cancer an had an emergency friday night, mi cousin call mi a bawl seh all saturday im nuh get nuh bed cuz a five man come in cause get shot up, no beds no doctors available at KPH, friday weh gone she seh.
So 5 man tek up de whole a de entire hospital?
Sad Sad Sad. Where’s the police to protect the residents and restore order. This is UNACCEPTABLE. Not becauz di ppl dem poor mean seh dem haffi be subjected to this. The ppl dem should not cast a vote for those politicians that’s not honoring what dem promise. ppl need to feel safe, that’s basic. Huh!
Instead of demonizing the criminals, you choose to focus on the Police and Politician. Guess what, police or politician can stop crime without the “poor people” involvement. Given how nosy the ghetto people are, they know who the murderers are and major criminal players. People like you always look to blame others for your plight. If the people in these ghettos wanted to stop the killing they would be more cooperative with the police. The police do not have the manpower to be everywhere at once.
@ Anon demonizing the criminals goes without saying DUH? Where was blame assigned u fool? So ur telling me if I don’t call to say John Doe did it, should I or the innocent who do not know who committed the crime suffer? The police r paid to serve and PROTECT, yes crime cannot be eliminated but it can certainly be reduced. Irregards to wether or not an informant calls, the police presence and force should be felt. Maybe and just maybe confidentiality is one of the reasons more persons r not informing. If u can’t trust the individual/s ur relaying the information to, then that’s one reason y they might not want to inform. So ppl like
U who think they have ppl like me figured out, go put what I said in ur pipe and smoke it. Maybe then and only then ppl like U will be ablevto see things from a wider angle as oppose to ur narrow tunnel vision.
U need to go smoke that in ur pipe fool. And yes I’m going to iterate to the ppl dem in
Police can’t be every where at once. Portia and Peter nah run patrol…therefore, the people need to join forces and help them self rid them communities of criminal elements-it could a dem family.
Them should have courage like Lamar Chow when case call up and stand firm like Lizard family fi ensure justice is served.
Is always the same speech “Police and Politicians”…kmt EVERYBODY fi take blame and EVERYBODY should do dem share fi fight crime. Police A NU SUPER HEROS!
to bluudclaat this is f***kries ti bludclaat. no order in di city,what di matter wid dem police? they cAN ARREST DESE criinals this is badder pon widl west to rassclaat
:nohope:
Lmao