Three killed, four injured in bloody 48 hours in St Elizabeth

over 3 years in Jamaica Observer

BLACK RIVER, St Elizabeth - Police here are probing the connection between two of four incidents following two days of bloodshed in this southern parish.Three people were killed and four injured in separate incidents in Fyffes Pen, northwest of Black River, and Carisbrook, close to Maggotty in northern St Elizabeth.A police source who asked not to be named said the police are following leads that the killing of 36-year-old Junior Lambert and 20-year-old Shadona Wilmott in two incidents in Fyffes Pen might have been carried out by the same gunmen."We are of the opinion that they may be related, but we don't have any strong evidence yet to suggest that they are. The scenes are comparable in terms of the kinds of spent [shell] casings that were found. Both scenes [had] M16 and 9-millimetre spent [shell] casings, so we are of the opinion that it may be the same culprits involved in the same incidents," the police source said.In the other incidents at Carisbrook, 66-year-old Egbert Dixon was found dead with chop wounds and two Jamaican-Canadians were shot and injured during a robbery.The three murders between Monday night and Tuesday evening follow last Friday's killing of 29-year-old Dwayne Brooks, otherwise called "Doctor Do" in Gazeland, near Nain, here in St Elizabeth.Members of parliament Floyd Green and JC Hutchinson, who both represent the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in St Elizabeth South Western and North Western, respectively, condemned the crimes in the parish.Statistics from the Jamaica Constabulary Force showed that 22 people were murdered in St Elizabeth between January 1 to December 18, 2021 in comparison to 27 murders in 2020, a decrease of 18.5 per cent.Green said the community of Fyffes Pen is shocked at the brazen acts."... They are experiences that we are not used to [on] this side of the world," he said.In the first incident, about 1:00 pm on Tuesday, Lambert, 36, otherwise called "Purple" was found slumped in his sofa with several gunshot wounds. His hands were bound.The police theorise that he was shot and killed on Monday night, about 11:45 pm, when residents reported hearing loud explosions in the community.In the second incident, the police said, about 8:05 pm, gunmen attacked a group of people who were at a shop in the community. Three people - two women and a man - were shot during the attack.One of the women, Shadona Wilmott of the same community, was shot in the head and died on the spot. The other two people were admitted to hospital.Green said the location of the second killing is "a regular community shop that anybody could have been at, at any time"."It is a very traumatic experience for the entire community," he added.He said the "back-to-back" incidents do create cause for concern in the community, which is in the Brompton area."We want to urge the police to leave no stone unturned; we believe that the area of Brompton needs an increase in resources, especially during this season. Clearly, we have been having some flare-ups in the area over the past three years. I think the police high command has done a good job to get it under control, but I am very concerned now that if proactive steps aren't taken you will see a further escalation of this activity," he said.He is urging residents to come forward with any information that can assist in the police's investigation."Based on the preliminary reports it does appear that the [criminals] would have made their escape [on] foot, which does suggest a number of things in relation to their familiarity with the area," he said.Hutchinson said Carisbrook is a very quiet community."It is one that we really didn't expect anything like that at all. We need to find whoever has committed these acts and bring them to justice in the shortest possible time," he said.The police said they were called to Carisbrook district, where Dixon's body was discovered in bushes about 3:15 pm on Tuesday.It is reported that his relatives became concerned when he did not return from work at his usual time.The police said during further checks Dixon's body was found with multiple chop wounds.Police said they were called back to Carisbrook early Wednesday morning, as a man and a woman, who are Jamaicans living in Canada, were shot and injured during a robbery about 3:00 am.The police confirmed that the two people had a cookout in the area on Tuesday and were robbed of an undetermined sum of cash.Hutchinson was horrified by the acts of criminality in Carisbrook."It is grieving to know that we have such acts that are actually taking place in my constituency, because we [were] having a very quiet and peaceful time, as far as murders are concerned," said Hutchinson.Investigators are encouraging anyone with information that can assist them to contact the Black River Police at 876-965-2026, Crime Stop at 311, the police 119 number or the nearest police station.

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