Rockfort residents remain in fear

Still overwhelmed by the pain and sorrow caused by last Monday night’s bloodbath in Rockfort, Kingston, during which five men were murdered, other men in the community on Friday wept openly during a walk-through led by Opposition Leader Mark Golding.

The victims were shot dead at a football competition/peace get-together in Pleasant Heights in the east Kingston community.

Four of the deceased have been identified as Ortavia ‘Mendez’ Austin, 51; his son, Okero ‘Kero’ Austin, 29; Odane Josephs, otherwise called ‘Bones’; and Rosrick ‘Teniel’ Thomas, while the identity of the fifth victim was yet to be ascertained.

On Friday when Golding and his team, including member of parliament for the constituency Phillip Paulwell visited the community, citizens who were observed huddled together along the road, reported that the area was still tense and that they were living in fear.

“The whole community tense and we are scared,” one man told The Gleaner. He, however, shared that persons were not yet fleeing the area.

As the group of politicians, accompanied by a large team of police personnel, including commanding officer for Kingston Eastern Superintendent Tommilee Chambers, commiserated with the residents, a few, while expressing their fears and heartache, broke down in tears.

One man, who was among a group of people watching, briskly walked off as the team approached and sat down on a nearby bench crying.

“A di first time mi witness man a kill man,” he said with his hands clasped behind his head.

“Oh bwoy,” he said sobbing, while adding that men were sending threats to community members.

According to him, although the men were not his blood relatives, all of them were like family to him.

DISTRESSING FOR REAIDENTS

Another man, who was also seen with tears streaming down his face, said he was tired of living “this way”.

He briefly reported that gunmen had returned to the community on Thursday night, threatening persons and accusing them of carrying out the killing.

Golding described the situation as distressing, noting that the community had been engaged in a successful peace process for many years, which has now been set back by the deadly incident.

However, he said he felt it necessary to visit the community and to let residents know that he and Paulwell were standing in solidarity with them. He also urged them to not take matters into their own hands but instead allow the police to do their work.

“We have been encouraging people just to try and process this without any further actions that would make it worse. Let the police do their job, and we would encourage the police to be present.

“The key thing, really, is to try and rebuild the process that was well under way. A lot of work had gone into it and I am aware that great strides had been made. So we want to get that back on track after a process of healing,” he said.

ESCAPEE A PRIME SUSPECT

Meanwhile, the police high command yesterday disclosed that an escapee, Junior Creary, otherwise called ‘Whoppa’, construction worker of Carnarvon Street, Kingston, has been identified as a prime suspect in the killing. Creary, who was in custody at the Port Royal Police Station in relation to a shooting, escaped in 2021.

Another man, Jordan Green, fingered by the police as a suspect in the deadly attack, was shot and killed by police on Tuesday inside his home. An illegal weapon was reportedly seized from him.

Residents previously told The Gleaner that the now deceased were players and supporters of a football competition which ended to make way for a spelling competition for children in the community. The men were then pounced upon by gunmen travelling on foot, who opened fire, sending everyone scampering.

Residents believed the senior Austin, who had only recently returned from overseas and who was actively working on unifying the community, and his son, were the main targets of the attack. They said the gunmen made sure they were dead by shooting them in the head as they lay helpless on the ground.

In the meantime, a state of public emergency has been declared in Rockfort and other areas within the Kingston East Division.

The Office of the Prime Minister stated that a thorough assessment by the security forces indicates that the elevated levels of violent criminal activity within the designated areas are of such severity and scale that they pose a significant threat to public safety.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com