Triple murder rocks the West, tougher policing measures coming
National security minister and the police say it is working
FOLLOWING A scary week of bloodletting across western Jamaica, with 14 persons being shot and killed and one stabbed to death, deputy commander of the St James Police Division, Superintendent Eron Samuels, says several new measures will be put in place to quell the lawlessness.
Samuels, who was a part of the security team that toured several crime-plagued communities across the region with National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang on Saturday, said he was aware of the latest killings - three bullet-riddled bodies found along a roadway in Zion community, near Barrett Town, St James, on Saturday night. He, however, had no details to provide on the matter.
According to reports, about 10:00 p.m. on Saturday, a motorist stumbled upon the three unidentified bodies, all males, and summoned the police.
On the arrival of the police, it was discovered that all three victims, who appeared to be young men, possibly in their 20s, were shot multiple times. About 31 spent shell casings were retrieved at the scene. None of the men had any form of identification on them.
Anthony Murray, the councillor for the Rose Hall division, in East Central St James, where Mount Zion is located, said while the men were unidentified, the fact that they turned up dead in that area is cause for concern.
“Well, to be frank with you, the Rose Hall division has been very calm in recent times as it relates to murders, so news of three murders in the community is of great concern to me,” Murray told The Gleaner. “Mount Zion is not one of the areas known for violent crimes, and to see what took place last night is really of concern.”
During his visit to Mt Salem on Saturday, Chang said the persons behind the violence were the remnant of gangs, which were displaced when the nation’s first zone of special operations (ZOSO) was declared in the community in 2017. He expressed confidence that the police can quickly restore calm.
In Hanover, the conflict there was blamed on feuding by rival gangs over the spoils of lottery scamming. Two of the main suspects in a recent double murder are now in custody.
FRIGHTENED BY last week’s brazen double murder, which was quickly followed by the killing of a popular meat shop operator, and other shooting incidents, some residents of Mt Salem, St James, are worried that the zone of special operations (ZOSO), which has been in place since 2017, is no longer protecting them from bloodthirsty gangsters.
“The troublemakers who ran away when the ZOSO was declared are now back in the community, and they are the ones driving the violence,” a resident, who asked not to be identified, told The Gleaner, during Saturday’s tour of the community by National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang, Area One commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police Clifford Chambers, and St James commander, Senior Superintendent Vernon Ellis.
“I believe a big mistake was made in 2017 when the ZOSO was declared, they should have locked down the entire community and searched every single house. Had they done that, the troublemakers would not have been able to hide what they hide (guns) and run away, but they did, and now they are back here killing people again.” However, unlike the residents, Chang, who once lived in the community, believes that, for the most part, the ZOSO has been successful despite his concern about the recent murders, which are primarily acts of reprisal by the remnants of gangs that had been displaced as a part of the crimefighting initiative.
“The ZOSO is not failing but this situation is of deep concern,” said Chang, in response to the fear now gripping the community. “Every murder is a tragedy, and we are going to ask the police to do whatever is necessary to find the perpetrators.
“The zone of special operations is designed to restore a level of calm, which it did. We have had less than 10 murders over the six going into seven years. This is the first one in about eight months,” continued Chang. “What it reflects is, the original concept is still there that will bring peace. When we clear, we hold, and we build.”
REMNANTS OF OLD CRIMINAL ELEMENTS
He added: “In the build phase, there are still remnants of the old criminal elements. We have indicated that the policy of the Government is to separate the violence producers and the gangsters, disrupt the gangs from the community, and that has happened in Mt Salem.
“But we are seeing young men who were a part of those gangs are still in the space, and there is this continued propensity for violence.”
Like Chang, Chambers believes that the ZOSO is working and that it is the fruit of the ZOSO that is allowing the police to get pertinent information on the gangsters, who the police are working to separate from the community.
“From a policing standpoint, it is clear that the zone of operations is working. When you look at the statistical figures in terms of murder, shootings, and major crimes, it is clear that it is working. The issue that might create a problem, as the minister (Chang) mentioned, is the shootings, the murders, the double murder that might tend to influence one’s fear, and that is something we have to deal with,” said Chambers.
“As law enforcement, we would want the community to cooperate, there are levels of cooperation… the information we are getting is giving us good results … the community is cooperating, and we are getting good support, ” said Chambers, in noting that they have been getting strong leads, which are putting the gangsters in their cross hairs.