Triple murder raises tensions

Published in the Jamaica Gleaner: Monday | September 3, 2007

Petrina Francis and Noel Thompson, Gleaner Writers

Tension and fear gripped sections of South East St. Andrew and South East St. Elizabeth on the weekend, hours before the general election.

In South East St. Andrew, three men were killed and another injured on Deanery Road, Vineyard Town, yesterday.

Over in South East St. Elizabeth, the driver of the National Demo-cratic Movement (NDM) candidate for South East St. Elizabeth, Conrad Powell, was shot and injured in the constituency Saturday night.

Up to press time last night, the identities of the men who were killed on Deanery Road had not been determined. The fourth person was being treated in hospital.

The incident took place about 3:15 p.m. when armed thugs pounced on the men who were at a grocery shop at the intersection of Deanery Road and Deanery Drive.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Michael Ellis, crime chief for East Kingston, told The Gleaner/Power 106 News Centre that there were conflicting motives, including politics.

He also said yesterday's incident could be linked to Friday's fatal shooting of three persons in McGregor Gully in the constituency and a fourth on Saturday morning.

"It is really just very heart-rending," said Joan Gordon-Webley, the Jamaica Labour Party candidate for South East St. Andrew, who claimed the men were not involved in politics.

The PNP's Maxine Henry-Wilson expressed regret.