Guns blaze in Spanish Town
GANG violence in Spanish Town worsened last night with gunmen trading bullets in several communities of the old capital, killing two men.
“It is not confined to any one area,” a police spokesman told the Observer last night. The shootings were reported in Tawes Pen, Duncan’s Pen, Ellerslie Pen and Shelter Rock.
There was also said to be shootings at the bus terminus on Burke Road, forcing commuters to flee for cover. “Public transport from Kingston is turning around at the hospital as no one is going into the town,” a woman told the Observer last night.
Meanwhile, Sherice Campbell, the 28 year-old mother of two, who was shot five times Monday, was last night battling for her life in hospital.
Campbell, received bullet wounds to the neck, back and stomach when gunmen invaded a tenement yard at Chambers Lane in Spanish Town.
She had just finished bathing at a pipe in the yard and was returning to her one-room dwelling when gunmen entered the premises and shot her.
The gunmen, police said yesterday, escaped on foot in the volatile community. The shooting, which occurred at about 7:30 pm, was said to be linked to an ongoing gang feud in the old capital, which left 10 people dead last week.
Campbell’s dried blood lay caked up in the parched earth at the spot where she fell on her face. Her rag, toothbrush and soap lay in the blood, a gruesome reminder of the attack that took place the night before.
Chambers Lane is an area whose residents staunchly support the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party and where members of the feared ‘One Order’ gang has strong influence.
Campbell, one resident claimed, was shot because she was in a relationship with a man aligned to the ‘Clansman’ gang, who are said to be supportive of the ruling People’s National Party and just as heavily-armed and deadly as their foes.
“Them say she a informer,” oneresident said.
The Chambers Lane residents were, however, cautious in their comments on the gang violence that has been rocking the old capital.
“We have to careful, when you gone them come say we a informer and you have to come back here come report on my death,” a clearly shaken woman remarked.
Other residents just stared blankly.
The Clansman gang, a police investigator said, has been involved in an extortion racket at the bus terminus on Burke Road.
“The money that is made from extortion is not chicken feed; millions are involved and although the business owners are not coming forward, we know that this is a major bone of contention between the warring factions,” the officer told the Observer.
So far 14 persons have been murdered and at least half a dozen shot and injured in Spanish Town since the beginning of the year.
