A CURFEW was imposed on embattled Spanish Town last night after warring gangs crippled business and normal activity and put the St. Catherine capital under virtual siege. Throughout yesterday the security forces sought to flush out members of the 'One Order' and 'Clans Man' gangs, reportedly responsible for the killing of 12 people and the injuring of 20 others since the start of the year...
News Source: Jamaica Gleaner
Reports are that the curfew was imposed following the intervention of Spanish Town's Mayor, Dr. Raymoth Notice, who made the request through the leadership of the two main political parties.
"I spoke with both the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader and they were in agreement with the curfew," said Dr. Notice.
The Mayor also confirmed that an emergency meeting between the business community and the St. Catherine Parish Council, which he heads, was called to review the impact of the upsurge in crime on the town.
"I will be also be meeting with officials from the Ministry of National Security and Police High Command next Tuesday to further discuss the issue," Dr. Notice said.
LOCKDOWN THE TOWN BY 2 P.M.
Many businesses in the area shuttered their stores early yesterday as rumours of shootings and murders, and a "lockdown the town by 2 p.m." threat reportedly sent by gang leaders, raced through the embattled former capital, which was already on edge after the deaths of three persons on Tuesday night.
Rudolph Green, head of the Spanish Town Chamber of Commerce, described the situation as "truly awful."
The persons killed in Tuesday night's shootings were identified as Kenroy Dixon, 37, and a man known only as 'Stamma' who were shot in the vicinity of Jones Avenue in Shelter Rock, and Charmaine Huggins, a 49-year-old cook who was shot and killed in the vicinity of St. John's Road. Four other persons were injured in Tuesday night's attacks as well.
Yesterday, several of the town's narrow streets were eerily empty, and pedestrians and employees of stores in the heart of the town were noticeably jittery.
Apart from flooding the town with foot and mobile patrols yesterday, the police have strategically placed a special team of officers to act as a 'buffer' on Oxford Road, near the bus park, which is located on the borderline between the warring factions. ?
While this was happening, scores of heavily armed police personnel from the Special Anti-Crime Task Force (SACTF), Organised Crime Unit, Mobile Reserve and the St. Catherine South division, were kept busy conducting separate raids in the troubled zones. ?
Meanwhile, even as the police, hobbled by inadequate resources, attempted to put a lid on the escalating gun violence in that part of the town, Police Commissioner Francis Forbes and the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Chief of Staff, Rear Admiral Hartley Lewin, met with National Security Minister Dr. Peter Phillips to discuss the matter. ?
Following that meeting, Dr. Phillips later met with the Prime Minister on the issue of violence in Spanish Town. ?
CANNOT ACCEPT ?
"We cannot accept and we will not accept that criminals, armed with dangerous weapons should be free to roam and create mayhem in our communities, holding hardworking and innocent Jamaicans to ransom, and threatening the economic livelihood of Jamaican citizens," said Dr. Phillips in statement released yesterday. ?
In the meantime, the Peace Management Initiative (PMI) has tentatively scheduled a meeting for tomorrow with the Councillors and Members of Parliament - Olivia 'Babsy' Grange of Central St. Catherine and Sharon Haye-Webster of St. Catherine South Central. ?
Mrs. Haye-Webster, who spoke with The Gleaner at the bus park, said innocent persons were being killed and injured and it was not by mistake. ?
"The people are being targeted," she asserted. ?
Miss Grange, who spoke with The Gleaner on Monday, said she was doing everything possible to get the rival factions to end the bloody warfare. ?
Compiled by Glenroy Sinclair, Claude Mills and Rasbert Turner
