The burnt-out shell of the two-bedroom house where 32-year-old Rodney Simpson was shot and killed yesterday. In the background is the house where the seven-year-old girl was shot and injured. (Photo: Keril Wright)

MONTEGO BAY, St James - Gunmen yesterday kicked down the door to Rodney Simpson's home at Fuller District in Granville, shot him dead then set his two-bedroom house on fire.

The men then peppered the area with bullets, three of which caught a seven-year-old girl who resides next door. The girl was admitted to hospital where she underwent surgery. Her condition was said to be serious.

Simpson, 32, worked as a 'watchman', but the police could not say what was the motive for his murder.

Last night, residents of the volatile St James community said they were fearful that the gunmen could strike again.

"A kill dem waah kill wi off," said one male resident, who added he and his common-law wife hid in a bedroom closet when the gunmen were firing wildly after killing Simpson about 1:30 yesterday morning.

The man, who was fearful to have his name published in the newspaper, said a number of residents were living in fear as attacks by armed men were more sustained and vicious. He said the police recently discontinued daily foot patrols in the area, considered one of the crime hot spots in the parish.

Police Superintendent Steve McGregor, the St James police chief, said the police were stretched, especially with the recent upsurge in criminal activities in several areas in Montego Bay.

"We are working with limited resources," McGregor said yesterday. "It is difficult to sustain these operations in all these areas."