Veteran DJ ‘Jaggy D’ shot dead in Hopewell Square

WESTERN BUREAU:

Veteran deejay Roger Walker, popularly known as ‘Jaggy D’, was murdered shortly after midday on Monday in Hopewell, Hanover, when an unknown assailant opened fire, killing him on the spot.

Reports are that Walker was speaking to friends at a popular hangout spot when he was shot.

The 57-year-old entertainer was among a group of promising deejays who surged to prominence in western Jamaica in the late 1980s.

Hopewell-based social activist Craig Oates said the versatile deejay was originally from Kingston but moved to Hanover as a child when his parents relocated to Hopewell. He reportedly lived exclusively in Hanover for several years before be began moving between Hanover and Kingston in his mid-20s, when his musical career began to take off.

“He grew up in Hopewell, but over recent times, he has been spending most of his time in Kingston, where he was seeking to fully establish himself in the music business,” said Oates. “My understanding is that he came here (Hopewell) over the weekend to perform at the Unity of the Beach, which was staged on Sunday night and, unfortunately, he was killed on Monday.”

While efforts to get an official version of the incident from the Hanover police were unsuccessful, an alleged eyewitness told The Gleaner that Walker was killed at a location where he would regularly hang out when he visited Hopewell.

“At about 1:30 p.m., he was chatting with friends at his regular corner when a lone gunman came up behind him and shot him and then ran away,” the eyewitness said. “He fell on his face and died on the spot.”

Former Cornwall College footballer Andrew Brissett, a childhood friend of the entertainer, remembered them attending the same primary school, the same church, and playing on the same football team.

“We grew up together, play football together for Central Football Club, and played music together for Hopewell Pentecostal Church,” said Brissett.

According to Brissett, while he was quite accomplished at playing the regular guitar in his youthful days in church, it was Walker who taught him to play the bass guitar, which subsequently became his favourite musical instrument.

“He made me fall in love with the bass guitar,” said Brissett.

News of his death triggered a wave of shock and expressions of condolences on social media as many persons shared fond memories.

“Rip Roger, aka Jaggy D, I spoke to you at 6:23 this morning (Monday),” wrote deejay Santa Ranks, who is based in the United States, on a Facebook page. “…. I got a call from New York at 3:00 p.m. that you were gone (dead) … I have to pause … Jah Jah.”

adrian.frater@gleanerjm.com