MONTEGO BAY, St James — The St James police have insisted that Sunday night’s shooting incident at a Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) rally in Sam Sharpe Square, which left two people dead and six others nursing injuries, was not politically motivated.

“Let me state categorically that the murders/shootings that took place in Sam Sharp Square last (Sunday) night were not politically motivated. The shooting resulted from a dispute among persons who were in attendance at the meeting,” declared Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Winchroy Budhoo, who heads the the Area One police division, as he argued that the over 150 members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, augmented by the 25 members of the Jamaica Defence Force, were enough to provide security for the mass rally.

His stance was supported by the St James Police divisional commander, Senior Superintendent (SSP) Steve Mcgregor.

“We just don’t want the wrong message to reach out to the St James people. St James does not have a history of party-on-party violence. We don’t want it to go out like that because it wasn’t that that played out last (Sunday) night,” SSP McGregor stressed.

The cops, who called an emergency press briefing at the Area One headquarters yesterday, said that the incident was a result of a feud between the Sparta Gang and the Rebel Gangs, both based in the Flanker community in the parish.

The incident triggered mayem among the thousands who were in attendance at the mass rally. Party supporters scampered for cover as gunshots rang out while JLP leader Andrew Holness was on the floor. The security detail quickly surrounded Holness and ushered him and wife, Juliet, off stage. The shooting brought the well-attended rally to an abrupt end.

“This incident originated from within the meeting and then transpired outwards. We are satisfied that what took place out there had the involvement of gunmen who were at the meeting. And they played out their act there out of a dispute that originated long before the shots were fired,” SSP McGregor argued.

“And we know people who were there and we will be sending out to them to come to us to assist us in dealing with this matter, and we are satisfied that we can bring some closure to what took place in a quick time,” he added.

He said that 15 9mm spent shells were recovered from the scene and that hands of the deceased men will be swabbed to determine if they were involved in the shooting.

In the meantime, ACP Budhoo, who noted that one of the gangsters was wearing a mask when he was killed, appealed to individuals to cease disguising their identities when they attend political meetings.