'It can't go on' - Two killed in Kingston, three in St James
published: Thursday | May 29, 2008

Mark Beckford, Staff Reporter


A member of the Major Investigation Task Force holds his colleague as he skips over bullets and other forensic evidence on Prince of Wales Street, central Kingston, following a shooting incident yesterday. In the background, other sleuths record their observations. - Peta-Gaye Clachar/Staff Photographer

Murders continued yesterday with a brazen afternoon attack where seven persons were shot, two fatally, at 25 Prince of Wales Street, near National Heroes Circle in central Kingston.

Dead are Margaret Campbell, 26, of 38 Heroes Circle, and Lenroy Moreland, 23, of an unknown address.

The shooting drew a heavy contingent of police and a large crowd of onlookers. Persons in the crowd expressed shock at the incident and called for the authorities to do more to put an end to the killings.

"It can't go on so no more," said one man.

The police reported that about 4:30 p.m., a group of persons were sitting at a cookshop when a white motor car drove past.

It was reported that the car then reversed, two men got out, pulled guns and fired several shots at the patrons.

Member of Parliament for Central Kingston, Ronnie Thwaites, condemned the shooting and called for the police to increase their presence in the community.

"The people are traumatised," Thwaites said. According to him the community has been tense since two previous shootings on nearby John and Wild streets.

Meanwhile, three more murders have been added to the St James police list, pushing the tally since January to at least 70.

Badly decomposed

At 7 p.m. on Tuesday, the police were summoned to a crime scene in Kempshot, near Granville, where a badly decomposed body, believed to be that of a male, was found in a ravine about 100 feet deep.

An on-the-spot post-mortem yesterday concluded that the man was hit on the head with a blunt instrument.

Almost two hours after that discovery, the police were called to the scene of a double murder at Rose Heights.

Gary Allen, 30, otherwise called 'Bessy', and Randal Stewart, a 45-year-old mason of Rose Heights, were both shot dead while standing along the roadway.

More than 600 persons have been killed in the island since the start of the year.

Western Bureau reporter, Noel Thompson, contributed to this story.