Gun battle in Tivoli - Five killed Policeman, soldier injured Nine weapons found
January 14, 2008
FIVE MEN were killed in a house on Keith Avenue in the western Kingston community of Tivoli Gardens yesterday in what the police said was a shoot-out with a police/military team.
One soldier and a policeman were also shot and injured in the incident which residents say started about 11:00 a.m.
Following the shooting, the police reported that five guns were recovered from the men. However, later in the evening, they said another four guns were subsequently found in the community.
Among the weapons recovered were shotguns, assault rifles and revolvers.
At press time, two of the dead men were identified as 24-year-old Kwesi Cunningham and 20-year-old Roland Mitchell, also known as Randy, both from west Kingston.
After the midday shooting, angry residents blocked several roads claiming the men were murdered. They also complained that soldiers in a Jamaica Defence Force helicopter discharged tear gas into the community.
Inspector Steve Brown of Operation Kingfish said the security forces were met with gunfire as they searched for the wanted men.
He also admitted innocent persons may have been killed in the firefight.
Mayor of Kingston, Desmond McKenzie, who is also councillor for the Tivoli Gardens division, told The Gleaner that he arrived in the community shortly after the shooting.
"We just want to ensure that the thing is done in a professional way," Mr. McKenzie said.
At the nearby Madden's Funeral Home in Hannah Town, a boisterous crowd gathered to view the bodies of the dead men.
Many of them were anxious to see if their relatives, or friends, were among the deceased.
Karlene Hall, trembling and sobbing uncontrollably, made her way from Tivoli Gardens to the funeral parlour where her worst fears were confirmed. Her son, Kwesi, was among the five men killed.
She said her daughter told her that Cunningham was inside the house at Keith Avenue when the shooting occured.
The death of Ms. Hall's second child came almost one year after her two younger sons, 10-year-old Ikel Henry and seven-year-old Shadder Henry, drowned in the Rio Cobre River in St. Catherine....
Author: Howard Campbell
Source: Jamaica Gleaner
