WESTERN BUREAU:
POPULAR MONTEGO Bay businessman Eugene Parkinson was killed gangland-style along the Ironshore main road in the western city on Monday evening.
Parkinson, believed to be in his late 40s and popularly known as 'Fat Eye', was the manager of the Mt. Salem football team.
The gunman, who reportedly pumped nearly a dozen bullets into Parkinson's body, also shot and injured Emerson 'Diggy' Henry, the coach of the Rusea's High School daCosta Cup team, and at least three other persons whose identities are being withheld by the police.
According to eyewitness reports, shortly after 7:00 p.m., Parkinson, Henry and the other people were standing at the far end of the Ironshore playing field where the Mt. Salem team had just completed a training session. A man armed with a handgun emerged from nearby bushes and opened fire on the group.
Parkinson, who was hit in the initial burst of gunfire, ran off to the nearby main road with the gunman chasing him and firing shots. Parkinson fell about 100 metres from where the shooting started and the gunman reportedly stood over him, changed the magazine in his gun and then pumped a few more shots into his body.
As a bystander at the nearby Harvey Beach looked on in amazement, the gunman walked over to a white Toyota car, which was parked close by, got in and sped away. When the bystander ran to Parkinson's assistance, it was too late.
Henry, who has guided Rusea's to seven daCosta Cup titles, and the other people wounded in the attack were all rushed to the Cornwall Regional Hospital where they were immediately taken into emergency surgery.
While not giving full details of the injuries to Henry and the other two men, a source at the hospital told The Gleaner they were all in stable conditions shortly after midday yesterday.
Henry was reportedly shot five times in his upper and lower back.
Superintendent Denver Frater, St. James's crime chief, who was early at the scene of the shooting, said it was clear that the killer had 'murderous intentions' based on the number of shots that were pumped into Parkinson's body after the gunman caught up with him.
"We are currently gathering statements so it would not be practical to give you a complete statement at this time," Superintendent Frater said.
As news of the shooting spread around Montego Bay on Monday night, a large crowd gathered outside the Maddens Funeral Home, on Union Street, where Parkinson's body was taken. There was a lot of weeping when his family and close friends arrived and the partially-covered body was put out on a stretcher.
