St James custos: ‘Stand up and say enough is enough’

WESTERN BUREAU:

Bishop Conrad Pitkin, the custos of St James, is issuing a fresh appeal for Jamaicans to stand up against the nation’s criminals and violence producers, following Wednesday’s latest incident in the parish where a mother was murdered and her daughter injured by gunmen in Mt Carey.

Pitkin made the call while addressing the St James Municipal Corporation’s (StJMC) annual Christmas tree-lighting ceremony, held at the Harmony Beach Park in Montego Bay on Wednesday evening.

“During this afternoon [Wednesday], the message was sent to me of the attack in Mt Carey where a family was attacked. The mother and her daughter were shot, the mother fatally, and the daughter was taken to the hospital in serious condition. My brothers and sisters, I believe it is time, and in fact the time is gone, for us as peace-loving Jamaicans to stand up and say enough is enough,” said Pitkin.

Hours earlier, at 10:30 a.m., 53-year-old Melvalyn Cross was shot and killed and her daughter injured after gunmen barged inside their home and opened fire on them. Two other family members who were in the house ran from the scene during the attack.

Subsequent reports revealed that Cross is the mother of Anthony Angus, who had been identified as a person of interest by police investigators probing a double murder in the York Bush community in Mt Carey two months ago.Two days before that killing, on Monday, December 12, Henry Salmon, a 64-year-old cooking gas distributor and Gilbert Jackson, a 56-year-old cabinetmaker were shot and killed by a lone gunman in a section of York Bush while delivering a set of cupboards to a customer. According to reports, the two men were killed when the gunman’s demands for money were not met.

Up to December 12, out of Jamaica’s overall tally of 1,442 murders to date, the Jamaica Constabulary Force recorded 193 murders in the St James police division, more than the 151 murders recorded in the parish over the same period in 2021.

In making his appeal, Pitkin urged Jamaicans not to be silent when criminal acts are carried out in their communities.

“Let us stand up against the violence, the crime, the corruption, and let us speak out. Remaining silent will not help you, it will not help your family, it will not help your community, and it will not help Jamaica. We are Jamaicans, Jamaica first, God first,” said Pitkin.

“I appeal to our young men, and if young women are involved, to put down the ammunition, put down the guns, put down the weapons, and let us live together peacefully. Let us make Jamaica somewhere that we can be proud of, and let us make Jamaica somewhere that our children can once more play in the streets without fear,” Pitkin added.

He also asked residents to pray for the police officers overseeing the St James division, led by Senior Superintendent of Police Vernon Ellis.