Rocky Point flare-ups crippling businesses

AN ALLEGED gang feud in Rocky Point is causing unrest in the southeastern Clarendon fishing village.

Last Saturday, two men were killed and two others injured in a brazen daylight gun attack as tension grew.

The deceased have been identified as 32-year-old fisherman Trimane Davis and 19-year-old Timar Hall, otherwise called ‘Pele’, both of Rocky Point.

Reports are that about 12:30 p.m., the four men were sitting under a shed along Cay Lane, when a blue Toyota Yaris drove up. Armed men alighted from the vehicle and opened fire at them. Davis reportedly died on the spot and Hall succumbed to his injuries at hospital. The other two men were admitted in stable condition.

Police sources allege that both deceased were aligned to the Camtam gang in the area, which is said to be behind several murders across the parish.

According to the sources, both men are also related to a popular businessman in the area, whose home and business place were destroyed by arsonists some weeks ago. The attacks are allegedly acts of reprisal for the murder of a man in the community last year.

May Pen Mayor Winston Maragh, who is also councillor for the Rocky Point division, told The Gleaner that crime has disrupted commercial activities in the usually bustling business community.

“It has closed down business because a lot of people are afraid to go into the community because they don’t know if they might get a stray bullet, so it’s really affecting business in the area,” said Maragh.

Maragh lamented that many positive developments, including the upgrading of water and road networks across the division, are being overshadowed by crime.

“I really hope that these guys will reconsider what they’re doing and call a halt,” said Maragh.

With tensions and fear spiralling in the community, the security forces have ramped up their presence.

“We have modified our strategies as a result of the shooting-murder incident over the weekend. This has resulted in increased joint presence of military and police in the area. We will continue to modify our strategies based on intelligence and other factors with a view of maintaining peace and safety in the community,” Superintendent Anton-Gur Cardoza, head of operations of the Clarendon Police Division, told The Gleaner on Monday.

Between January 1 and May 7, Clarendon recorded 25 murders – a 21.9 per cent decline when compared to 32 murders for the corresponding period last year.