A child and four other people were killed during a brutal St. Catherine’s mass shooting on Sunday night. Gunfire erupted in Commodore, Linstead, where nine people were shot, four of whom survived their injuries.
Police say the incident occurred around 8:45 p.m., when the victims were gathered on a property known to locals as “Big Yard”. The group were having fun playing games when armed men approached the yard. The men, according to a report, were impersonating police officers, as they were dressed in the uniform of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.
The gunmen entered the premises and reportedly announced themselves as police. Immediately afterwards, they lifted their high-powered weapons and opened fire. Following the shooting, nine people were rushed to the hospital; five succumbed to their injuries, while the other four remained hospitalised.
Among the deceased is a 4-year-old girl identified as Shannon Gordon from Orange Park, Charliemount, Linstead. The child attended the Rosemount Primary and Infant School. Three of the deceased are residents of the Rosemount district in Linstead: 42-year-old Mario Sullivan, 19-year-old Jushane Edwards, and 39-year-old vendor Iysha Washington. The other deceased was identified as a 22-year-old security guard known as Famous Amos from the Commodore district.
According to the police, the area of the incident has had issues in the past that have led to repeated police visits. Authorities believe that the mass shooting may have stemmed from a gang conflict.
Along with the senseless shooting, the issue of gunmen dressing in police fatigues also raises great concern. Assistant Commissioner of Police Christopher Phillips, who leads Area 5, said in a Jamaica Gleaner report, “The men parading as law enforcement officers pose a worrying sign.”
Police have not yet identified the motive behind the mass shooting, but Phillips said that detectives are working hard to uncover it. He confirmed that a “team of top investigators” are working on the case, and what they have gathered so far is pointing to an ongoing gang conflict as the cause of the deadly attack.
Another troubling factor in Sunday night’s shooting is the death of the child, who Jamaica Gleaner sources say sustained multiple gunshot wounds.
