(Jamaica Gleaner) – It was 30 minutes of terror which the survivors will never forget. The smell of gasolene, the gunfire, the burning buildings and the screams of an 85-year-old neighbour will live in their memories forever.
On Tuesday, the survivors sat in shock in front of premises on Oddman Lane, Grants Pen, Kingston 8, reliving the terrifying period between 12:30 and 1 Tuesday morning when a group of gunmen turned their lives into a living hell.
“When the boy kick off mi door and push the gun inna mi face and seh ‘im wih kill mi, mi jus’ start pray,” one survivor told The Gleaner.
“Dem tell me and mi 12-year-old daughter fi go under di bed but then mi hear them sprinkle the liquid on mi door and mi smell the smoke. Mi seh me not staying in there and burn to death,” another survivor said.
She fled the burning building with her daughter and son but that was not the end of her nightmare.
“As mi pass the house mi hear ‘Mother B’ a bawl fi help but mi couldn’t help ‘ar as the house was in flames and the gunman dem did behind mi,” the survivor added.
“When she a call mi a run, mi a run and mi couldn’t stop fi help ‘ar. Even her sister and niece, who were in the middle room, couldn’t help her because the gunman dem force dem back inside.”
‘Mother B’ was 85-year-old Beatrice Campbell, who was trapped in her one-room apartment when the gunmen set it ablaze.
Her burnt body evoked tears, as residents remembered a woman they say always wore long socks and was the best at baking puddings and making coconut drops. “Me can’t stay here. This is hell. Me just move around here and mi don’t know anybody but them come and burn mi out and mi lose everything,” said another survivor. “If a even under the clock a Half-Way Tree me would a live rather than stay here so,” one woman said as she surveyed the burnt buildings. Teams from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security visited the victims and promised help but that was little comfort to the almost 30 persons who saw their lives turned upside down by a group of terrorists.
Last night’s brutal attack on residents in Oddman Lane was the latest in a series of incidents that sources say started when the son of the landlord killed a man from a section of Grants Pen, known as ‘Vietnam’, more than one year ago.
The friends of the dead man responded by firing five shots into the belly of the alleged killer’s mother. She died on the spot in Oddman Lane. Not satisfied, they killed two men, including a Scotiabank employee, who were cousins of the man accused of killing their friend.
That led to a further flare-up in the conflict and residents are now afraid that Tuesday morning’s attack will add more fuel to the raging fire.
