Gang conflict playing out in St Catherine North, says commish
Published:Thursday | June 9, 2022 | 7:15 PM
Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson said ongoing gang conflict playing out in the St Catherine North police division is contributing to the increase in violence now being experienced.
The commissioner, who toured the police division today with Area Commander Assistant Commissioner Gary Griffiths and Divisional Commander Howard Chambers, along with other senior police personnel, said illicit funds from scamming is facilitating the purchase of guns and ammunition, and a series of reprisals have escalated.
"We are seeing a series of reprisals in which mothers, cousins and friends of gangsters have been killed and it goes back and forth," Anderson told reporters today.
"We have been intercepting them, we are on them, the intel is coming in and the communities are supporting our efforts, the communities want to rid themselves of crime."
The commissioner visited relatives of the four men who were slain on Sunday night along Railway Lane where tension is running high, and while not linking the attack on the men to gang feud, he assured them that the police have some intelligence on the shooters and will go after them.
Sunday, about 8:00 pm, a group of men were hanging out at their favourite spot on Railway Lane when a white Toyota Probox motor car approached.
According to reports, the men alighted from the car, identified themselves as police officers and ordered the men to put their hands in the air.
The men reportedly complied and were fired on. Five were shot - four died and one is still hospitalised in critical condition.
Today, the residents vented their anger in the presence of the commissioner's team and requested that something be done about undercover police cars that have been driving through the community accosting them with guns since Sunday night's incident.
"We not sure whether dem a police or badman. We fraid because we still a get page sey the man dem a come shoot some more youth," said one resident.
The residents have blocked Railway Lane since Sunday night's incident and insisted that they will not remove the blockage because that is the only way they can guarantee their safety.
The commissioner, while acknowledging that the police have to be undercover at times, was not inclined to reveal his strategy in alleviating the residents' fears. He, however, assured that the police were working on ways to prevent any confusion with legitimate law enforcement officers in the course of their duty.
Meanwhile, Anderson, who also visited 31 St John's Road where ongoing gang violence resulted in one five-bedroom house being firebombed and the adjoining Williams Lane where a four-bedroom house was also firebombed early this morning, said one of the challenges the police face is getting people to give information.
He disclosed that 76 per cent of murders are gang related and the police have captured and charged 400 persons so far.
- Ruddy Mathison
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