Olivia Brown/Gleaner Writer

A brazen daylight shooting that left one man dead on Sunday in York Town, Clarendon has ignited calls by the councillor for the York Town division, Uphell Purcell, for a plan of action to address crime in the community.

The deceased has been identified as 48-year-old farmer Oneil McLean, otherwise called as 'Hunter.'

It is reported that about 11:15 a.m., McLean and a friend were the deceased man's farm in York Town when they were pounced upon by masked gunmen who opened fire, hitting McLean several times.

He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead. 

The friend reportedly escaped unhurt.

Purcell described the murder as disturbing. 

"On a day called Emancipation Day, a day when our forefathers fought for us to be free, it is heart-rending and disturbing to know that persons can go and shoot someone who is just trying to make a living. He was on his farm looking after his animals and gunmen just pounced upon him, shot him and killed him."

He told The Gleaner that crime has been plaguing the community for years, and residents have been calling for the matter to be addressed. 

"The York Town that we are hoping to come back [to] is getting worse and worse. Crime is plaguing the community and the citizens are sick and tired of it. Children are hurting because some of them are going without a mother or a father just because of the power of the gun," he bemoaned. 

The councillor posited that increased police presence and a gun recovery strategy might be effective in bringing peace to troubled communities. 

"The only way to curb the violence is to get rid of the guns. The gunmen have the guns and you catch them and lock them up 10 million times, and their gun is still out and still doing harm," said Purcell.

Investigation into yesterday's killing by the police is ongoing. 

As at July 29, Clarendon recorded 56 murders and 37 shootings.

Follow The Gleaner on Twitter and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com [2] or editors@gleanerjm.com [3].