Double murder shocks quiet community
Residents of Slip Dock Road in east Kingston remain on edge following the shooting death of two men and the injuring of another last Friday night.
According to police reports, about 10:15 p.m., residents reportedly heard explosions and alerted the police. Upon the lawmen’s arrival, two men were seen suffering from gunshot wounds close to the entrance of Slip Dock Road. Another man was also shot further down the avenue. All three men were taken to hospital where two were pronounced dead. A resident said residents in the usually quiet community are afraid to walk on the street.
‘War nuh gwan pon dem road here, enuh, suh all a dis come as surprise. But we get fi understand say yuh have man in di area go out a road and do tings recently and come in back and now see a innocent people get kill because of it. Right now the place tense bad because people really just don’t understand what a happen. If unnu notice, a ghost town settings right now because everybody fraid,” the resident said.
One of the deceased has been identified as 52-year-old business owner Sedon ‘Mr Rowe’ Johnson. His brother said that when he heard that two men were killed, he had no idea that his own flesh and blood was a victim.
“Is after a while mi hear a lady a talk and her phone on speaker and a suh mi realise say a mi brother. Honestly, is over two years mi nuh see him although we live suh close because mi nuh really leave mi house. Mi don’t know of him and anyone involved in anything, enuh, him just a do him little business,” he said.
Johnson, who had lived overseas for a number of years, reportedly returned to the island in 2017 and opened a liquor store. One of his neighbours theorised that he and his friends were the only available targets when the gunmen were passing by.
“Mi stay inna mi house and hear di explosion dem but mi think a bike a make noise. Is a woman tell mi what a gwan later and when mi reel out, mi see Mr Rowe and him friend lay down. Di friend not even come from round here, is look him come look for him. It look like Mr Rowe never hear di shot dem a come up di road because the music did a play loud. But di man dem a fire from way down di road a come up. Mr Rowe was a good man,” the neighbour said.