Headlines:
| 12 killed in 24 hours, infant among the slain |
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| Friday, 05 October 2007 | |
 Investigators in the Corporate Area were kept busy over
the past 24 hours rushing from one murder scene to the next.Killings were also reported in Portmore St. Catherine and Clarendon. Our news team visited at least six murder scenes since early Friday morning where at least 12 persons were killed. Gunmen ran amok in Rockfort, East Kingston early Friday morning killing seven persons, execution style. A four-month-old baby was among those killed in the attacks. Now residents of this community are reportedly bracing for more reprisals. A piercing wail greeted our news team on our arrival at 12 Norman Crescent. It was a grief-stricken aunt of one of the victims. It was a heart rending cry for peace in the aftermath of the bloodbath. In that incident a hail of bullets cut down 27-year-old Marlon Hurd, his common-law wife 18-year-old Shenitta Smith and their 4-month-old daughter Lanasha. Shortly after the lives of 19-year-old Christina Brian and her 41-year-old mother Violet Williams were snuffed out just as brutally at 3 Glasspole Avenue. Both women were reportedly awakened by shuffling sounds in their room. They were dragged from their beds by armed men who opened fire killing them. An onlooker said a baby girl miraculously escaped harm. The child was found in the corner of the upturned mattress and a nearby wall. The bloodletting did not end there. As police personnel processed the crime scenes criminals again went on the rampage. 70-year-old Joan Richardson and 9-year-old Mutombo Thomas of 12 Lacruse Road became the sixth and seventh victims in the four hour murderous rampage. Police say Miss Richardson was found in a crouched position, an indication that she was on her knees when she was killed. It is understood that the nine year old boy, in the nude and preparing for school hid in a cellar. Mutombo was reportedly dragged out and shot. Clearly shocked and stunned, residents were overheard planning to make their exit from the troubled community. In the meantime, the East Kingston Police have linked feuding gangs inside the affected communities to the seven killings. Crime Officer for the East Kingston Police Division, Deputy Superintendent Michael Ellis says preliminary investigations into the killings point to reprisals. "We would like the public's assistance but we are very early in terms of our investigations. When I leave here I am going to pull the different teams together so we can conference and see where we are in terms of what happened so far and where we need to go and after that we will determine if we will be able to release names," said DSP Ellis. Additional police and military personnel were deployed to the areas following the shootings. |