Rockfort fears red Christmas amid string of murders
Published:Tuesday | December 10, 2024 | 12:07 AMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter
A string of violent incidents, including a double murder, have left residents of the volatile Rockfort community in east Kingston gripped by fear, bracing for another Christmas overshadowed by crime and violence.
“Mi fraid suh till mi nuh wah come out,” a female resident told The Gleaner on Monday, clutching a cup of hot beverage in the confines of her home.
By the time The Gleaner arrived at the area where the men’s bodies had been found on St John’s Road at an area referred to locally as ‘Brooklyn’ that had been washed. However, the lingering stench of blood still hung in the air, a stark reminder of the gruesome scene.
“Nobody not leaving their house for the holiday. It a go come in like COVID lockdown all over again … . Last year, we never have no Christmas, and a di same thing again. If you want see Christmas, yuh affi leave and lift up out of this concrete jungle. No love nuh deh bout yah,” an elderly man said aloud.
Reports suggest that the murders stemmed from a dispute among former friends, fuelled by allegations of the refusal to return an illegal gun and align with a specific faction.
While the police are yet to identify the deceased, residents named them as Roger ‘Run Things’ Grey and Jermaine ‘Bobo’ Wallace.
According to sources, a meeting occurred on Sunday afternoon, followed by gunfire later that night. When the chaos subsided, the two men were found lying in pools of blood. The police were called and transported them to the hospital, where they were pronounced dead.
One resident recalled a triple murder at the same location four years ago, describing it as a grim reminder of a time when the community was under siege.
RESIDENTS FEARFUL
“Nobody nuh deh ya fi go pon no side. Di man dem weh dead a some working man. I was asleep when it happened, but now is like mi can’t sleep,” the resident said, also expressing fears of a grim Christmas.
On Monday morning, another man was fatally shot in a separate section of the community, leaving the area desolate. The identity of this victim remained unknown up to late yesterday evening.
The unrest follows another horrific event in the community’s Pleasant Hill area, previously known as Waricka Hill, where a quintuple murder occurred on Heroes’ Day, October 21.
Despite the recent violence, the Kingston Eastern Police Division reports an 18 per cent decline in murders and a 21 per cent reduction in shootings compared to last year. As of December 7, the division recorded 55 murders, down from 67 during the same period last year.
Nationally, 1,085 homicides have been reported this year – 234 fewer than the previous year, marking an 18 per cent decrease.