Manchester still ‘a safe place’
Cops blame spike in bloodletting on interpersonal issues playing out in public
Published:Thursday | December 5, 2024 | 12:09 AMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter
Deputy Superintendent of Police Carey Duncan, commander of the Manchester Police Division, says the parish is a safe place despite being heavily featured in the news recently as a result of an increase in both sporadic murders and shooting incidents.
The bloodletting occurs day or night, resulting in a 15 per cent rise in murders and a 14 per cent jump in shootings from January 1 to November 30.
“Manchester is indeed a safe place. We have persons who have some interpersonal issues, and it is playing out in the public spaces,” Duncan, however, told The Gleaner yesterday. “In a general way, if you look at what happens in Manchester, the general public is not at risk.”
The crime fighter said the interpersonal issues is something the police are looking at.
The latest incident, a double murder and shooting, occurred Tuesday about 7:30 p.m. along Main Street in Porus, Manchester.
Up to last night, Duncan told The Gleaner that no motive had yet been established.
The Major Investigation Division (MID) is the arm of the Jamaica Constabulary Force probing the death of 27-year-old bartender Sasha-Gay ‘Chin’ Chambers and an unidentified male patron.
However, residents told The Gleaner he was called ‘Stewy’ and had been deported to Jamaica some time ago.
Another man was shot and injured in the attack.
Reports are that three armed men pounced on the establishment, brandished guns and opened fire.
When the shooting subsided, Chambers and the other men were found suffering from gunshot wounds.
They were rushed to hospital, where both Chambers and ‘Stewy’ were confirmed dead.
The other man was admitted. However, The Gleaner was unable to confirm his condition.
Reports are that a police team was, soon after, engaged in a gun battle with men who they believe were responsible for the deadly attack.
An unidentified man was fatally shot during the confrontation in Rambo district in the parish.
The police say one .38 revolver and four .38 rounds were seized.
Residents in Fear
The Gleaner understands that the Inspectorate and Professional Standards Oversight Bureau and the Independent Commission of Investigations are investigating the Rambo incident.
A resident told The Gleaner that the general sense among the people is one of fear.
“There was once a time when this was not the news coming out of Mandeville. Just like other parts of Jamaica, we had a mass shooting in October, seven people shot in the market and two dead. Yes, the target was killed, but a woman who was shopping got shot and died. It’s just going on and on,” said the resident, who requested anonymity.
That deadly shooting occurred on October 4.
As at November 30, the Manchester Police Division had recorded 47 murders and 41 shootings.
(BOX) Some murders in Manchester this year:
June 8 - 29-year-old Dezesha Falconer, otherwise called ‘Drama’, shot and killed in Mandeville
July 24 - Omar ‘Davy’ Gaynor, 33, shot and killed in Mandeville
September 5 - Romario White, shot and killed at a bar in Christiana
September 5 – Three men shot, two fatally, at a bar in Lower Albion district, Mandeville.
October 4 - Thirty-year-old Melissa Merchant and Andre ‘Prenge Boy’ Bradford were shot and killed at Mandeville Market. (Four other persons were injured.)
October 24 - Rushaine Weltshire, 30, was shot dead in KnockPatrick, Manchester. (A woman was shot and injured in this attack.)
November 11 - Sameik Stephens, otherwise called ‘Ghost’ or ‘Brown man’, was shot and killed in Porus.
November 15 - Rohan Gentles, bus driver killed, at Holmwood High School