MONTEGO BAY, St James — A tense calm prevailed over the tough Canterbury community, off King Street here in Montego Bay, last night following Monday evening’s drive-by shooting which left four Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) supporters and a 13-year-old boy suffering from gunshot wounds.

Irate members of the community yesterday blocked off a section of King Street in protest over the attack.

“…Dem can’t stop wi from vote because them can’t kill off all of us,” one protester, who claimed to be a JLP supporter, said in reference to tomorrow’s general election.

According to the police, the incident happened approximately 7:30 pm while the individuals were standing outside a bar. They said men alighted from a silver car that stopped in the vicinity and fired on the group before returning to the waiting vehicle, that sped off.

After the smoke cleared it was discovered that the JLP supporters and the boy, who was sent on an errand by his mother, were shot. All were taken to the hospital where it was determined that two of the victims had suffered serious injury.

The incident followed closely on the heels of two similar shootings. Two men were shot and killed while in attendance at a JLP mass rally in Sam Sharpe Square on February 7. On February 9, one man was shot and killed, and three other people wounded while in a JLP motorcade along Kodak Street, in Flanker. Twelve motor vehicles were also damaged in the incident.

At the time, the police said the incident took place close to the home of one of the men who were shot at the Sam Sharpe Square rally.

Meanwhile, following Monday night’s shooting, the St James Police divisional commander Senior Superintendent Steve McGregor disclosed that he spoke with Ashley-Ann Foster — the People’s National Party’s (PNP’s) candidate in the St James Central constituency where the incident occurred — and Dr Horace Chang, general secretary of the JLP, calling on them to urge their supporters against any retaliation and allow the police to carry out their probe.

The senior cop confirmed that the people who were shot were all clad in green shirts with the image of Heroy Clarke, the JLP candidate for the constituency, but that the police were still carrying out their investigations to determine who fired the guns.

“The car (which transported the attackers) was a… silver- looking car. Who were the occupants? We don’t know. We are doing our investigation and questioning people. But the fact that the people who were shot up were wearing party colours, that’s why I called both sides for them to speak to their supporters to remain calm and to leave the incident for the police to deal with it,”McGregor told reporters.

Up to late yesterday afternoon a strong contingent of police maintained a presence in the area.

— Horace Hines