A four-year respite from murder in August Town, St Andrew, came to a bloody end with the slaying of two brothers, one week apart, and police have fingered Oshane Morris, otherwise called Chucky, as the man who allegedly ordered the attacks.

The more recent of the two murders was committed in the pre-dawn hours last Saturday. It is alleged that the victim was found with what appeared to be gunshot wounds to the head and his body was partially burned following a fire at premises on August Town Road. The body was discovered after police responded to reports of a fire.

Police have not yet released the identity of the man who was killed on Saturday morning, but he and his slain brother are said to be relatives of reggae singer Etana.

Following Saturday’s killing, Etana took to social media claiming that her family was being targeted.

“My relatives are under attack in August Town. They have taken a second person this morning. He is mentally ill and they have burned my aunt’s shop to the ground,” she said in the post.

According to police superintendent Mark Harris, who heads the St Andrew Central Police Division which oversees August Town, cops have been relentless in their efforts to capture Morris, who has been on the police’s wanted list for almost a year.

“As we speak, I am in the area,” Harris told the Jamaica Observer on Monday, indicating that the hunt was on to locate Harris and to maintain calm in August Town.

“The community has had two murders because we have a small section of August Town known as African Gardens, where a gang conflict emerged since the start of the year, leading to two brothers being killed. It is said that they were ordered to be killed by a wanted man who is a gang leader in the area named Chucky,” Harris said.

He said that although the security forces continue to maintain a strong presence in the area, thugs still found a way to carry out the murders.

“We have a lot of resources in the area and a zone of special operations is also in the area, but these men manage to do these things at nights. One of the brothers was killed at 4:00 am. In that incident, they lit the house and when the fellow ran out they shot him,” Harris said.

ETANA… my relatives are under attack in August Town