By Glenroy Sinclair, Staff Reporter
A friend of the three men murdered yesterday in Temple Hall, St. Andrew, is being comforted by a police officer at the crime scene. - Norman Grindley /Staff Photographer
THREE MEN, with reported links to the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), were ambushed and murdered in Temple Hall, west rural St. Andrew, yesterday afternoon.
JLP Member of Parliament, Andrew Gallimore, who identified the victims as party supporters, said the men were lured to a so-called meeting to discuss roadwork. Instead, they were killed execution style by their assailants.
Dead are Glassford Collins, alias 'Ex'; Carlton Crawford, alias 'Pound' and Howard Fuller, all of Stony Hill addresses.
Yesterday's incident was the seventh time within the past nine months that there has been a reported case of a triple murder. It also represents an increase in the country's murder rate, the figure having now ballooned to 730 since the start of the year.
The bodies of Crawford and Fuller were found slumped in the front seats of a white Toyota motor car. They had gunshot wounds to their heads. The vehicle was found parked on the main road. Crawford's left foot was partially hanging out of the car, which, the police say, gave the impression that he attempted to get out of the vehicle. About 200 feet away, the body of Collins was found on a river bank, with a section of his head blown apart by the impact of the bullet. The police said he apparently tried to make a run for his life but was chased and shot at close range.
According to the police, about mid-day the three men were seen sitting in the vehicle when a group of men drove up in a white Toyota Corolla motor car and opened fire at them.
"I am afraid that the four years of peace we had in West Rural St. Andrew, might be shattered," said MP Gallimore.
Residents are alleging that a prominent deportee, who is the former don of one of Kingston's garrison communities, is the mastermind behind the killings.
Mr. Gallimore said that not only could the peace be shattered, but that the re-surfacing of the roadway between Tom's River and Stony Hill, a reported $100 million contract, may now be put on hold because of the threat of violence.
He explained that one of the victims was his official liaison officer who was in charge of monitoring the work project. He said the work was being monitored very keenly to ensure that it was evenly distributed among the rival political factions.
Reports are that the three men had gone to Temple Hall to talk with the contractor in relation to the distribution of the work and were the victims of an ambush.
As the news of the killings spread, scores of angry residents of Stony Hill rushed to the scene. Some fainted, while others wept uncontrollably.
Some have vowed to avenge the men's deaths.
