Manchester shop operator killed, body found by 8-y-o

A 4-year-old boy has now been left traumatised after having witnessed the death of his father, a shop operator, in the Job Lane district of Christiana, Manchester, last night.

The Manchester police have identified the deceased as 34-year-old Kevin Ferguson, otherwise known as Fire Head.

According to reports, residents heard gunshots ringing out at about 11:30 on Saturday night.

Ferguson's body was then discovered this morning and the police subsequently alerted.

A relative of the deceased, who requested anonymity for his safety, told The Gleaner that Ferguson, who operated his shop for the past 10 years, had a room to the back of the building where he would stay occasionally when he didn't feel like going home.

The relative said Ferguson and his 4-year-old son were in the room when the deceased was called out in the middle of the night and later met his demise.

"You can imagine that from 11:30 last night this little boy a go through this ordeal? Him watch him father bleed to death and nobody to rescue him? It's either he didn't know what was happening or he was very brave, because as a big man I couldn't manage that scene. It wasn't until me little 8-year-old cousin go tie out her goat this morning that she see the body and call fi help."

The father of three is said to have been very enterprising and was always looking for a way to better himself.

"Him do him hustling, man, he operates the shop, him buy and sell in the market and him do mason work on the side. Him a nuh bad man and him nickname 'Fire Head' nuh mean what people thing it mean. He got that name from the man who grew him because the colour of his hair was kinda red," the relative said.

He added that this has come as a shock to the community, despite the stigma of criminality that has been placed on the area as a result of wrongdoers.

"Personally, I never really liked that area where he was because you always have some man a drink and smoke dem weed and grabba. You have bad mind people a drop them word and you know man and man or man and woman get in a argument and me just never like the ends. But I don't know what could have happen for them to want to kill him."

No motive has yet been established for the killing. Investigations continue.

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