Elderly man, teenaged girl among seven killed on weekend

(Jamaica Observer) – A 75-year-old man was brutally murdered and a 59-year-old man injured in a brazen Saturday afternoon attack at the Rae Town Fishing Beach in Kingston, bringing to seven, the number of persons killed over the weekend.

Police identified the dead man as Clinton Cooke of a Kingston 16 address. The name of the injured man has not been released. Reports said both men were at the fishing village when two gunmen approached them and opened fire. Cooke died on the spot.

Police are also probing the murder of 14-year-old Ladonna Lewis of Longville Park in Clarendon. Lewis was shot and killed at Water Street in West Kingston on Friday afternoon. Residents reported hearing explosions and later found the child suffering from two gunshot wounds to the abdomen on the roadway. She was taken to the nearby Kingston Public Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

About four hours after Ladonna’s death, police were summoned to the intersection of West Queen and West streets where the unidentified body of a man was found with gunshot wounds. Police said the body, which measured 5 feet, seven inches, was dressed in blue jeans, a white floral shirt and black and white shoes.

They also reported that 29-year-old Kevin Darby of Cane River in St Andrew was attacked and murdered as he drove along the Dallas Castle main road in Papine. Darby was reportedly travelling in a Nissan Sunny motorcar when he was ambushed by a group of gunmen who shot him repeatedly.

In a bid to escape his attackers, Darby lost control of the car which crashed into another vehicle and burst into flames. Darby’s charred remains were removed from the vehicle by crime scene investigators. Homicide detectives are also probing the circumstances surrounding the shooting death of 22-year-old Kemar Hewitt, also called ‘Bobo’ and the injury of two others at Burnside Valley District, Red Hills in St Andrew on Friday night.

Hewitt and the men were playing dominoes when four gunmen sneaked up on them and opened fire. Hewitt died on the spot while the other men were taken to hospital where they were treated and released.

About 8 pm on Saturday, the bullet-riddled body of 35-year-old Donovan McIntosh, otherwise called ‘Duppy Man’, was found at his Lawrence Avenue home. Police said they were called to the area after explosions shattered the silence of the evening in the community. They found McIntosh’s lifeless body and removed it to the morgue.

The Clarendon police are also investigating the murder of 40-year-old Donald Clair of Bucknor in the parish. Clair, who is also known as ‘Jim’, was found dead on the Bucknor Main Road on Sunday. His body had multiple bullet wounds.