Norman Grindley/ Staff Photographer
Sgt. Berris Butler of the Vineyard Town Police Station tries to comfort this elderly woman, who leaned on him for support after a man was killed at 6 Richard Road in the Mountain View Avenue area yesterday.Vernon Daley and Klao Bell, Staff Reporters
The sun was sizzling in the capital city yesterday. But it didn't stop gunmen from attacking citizens and trading bullets with the police.
Mountain View, for the most part, was a ghost town. But gunmen played cat and mouse with patrolling soldiers and police. At one point when The Sunday Gleaner was in the area yesterday, an army of men with high-powered weapons dashed across a section of Mountain View Avenue, just after a V-150 armoured car had passed.
This, while a heavy detachment of police were in other parts of Mountain View and two helicopters hovered overhead.
And some residents, wanting to put distance between themselves and the troubled community, seized the opportunity to flee the area while the security forces were there.
The police yesterday repeated their warning to citizens to avoid the Mountain View Avenue area after a fresh round of gang violence claimed the life of an unidentified man.
According to the police, early yesterday morning a house on Richard Road in the area was burnt by armed men. Later the body of the unidentified man was found, burnt beyond recognition.
Up to late yesterday the area remained tense as the heavy detachment of police kept watch.
On Friday, gun violence broke out in the area forcing residents to lock themselves indoors. Reports are that at least one house at 63 Mountain View Avenue was attacked and set ablaze and one man shot.
Allegations are that the gun battle is between political gangs from Saunders Avenue, Jarrett Lane and Jacques Road.
Two months ago gun battles between rival gunmen left 12 persons dead and several others injured. Several residents were also burnt out and forced to flee the area.
On Wednesday representatives of the governing People's Na-tional Party and the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party met to resolve the ongoing conflict in the area.
