Glenroy Sinclair, Staff ReporterTWO MEN were killed yesterday when heavily armed gunmen in Jones Town, South St. Andrew, pounced on a group of visitors to the area.
The police said that the two were among six persons who had travelled to the area in a Blue Toyota Camry. Two other men were shot and hospitalised in a stable condition and two women escaped injury.
One of the dead has since been identified by a voter's registration card found in his pocket, bearing the name Anthony Newby of a Portmore, St. Catherine, address.
Reports are that shortly after 5:00 p.m. the Toyota Camry with the four men and two women drove to Nelson Street in Jones Town, South St. Andrew. The police said that one of the men came out of the car and went into a yard. He was later seen coming out of the yard with his hands held behind his head. A barrage of gunshots followed. The four men were shot several times with AK-47 rifles.
The shooting has left the police baffled as it comes in the midst of a period of relative calm in an area once terrorised by the rivalry between local gangs. "We are not expecting any reprisals," said Deputy Superintendent Delroy Hewitt, the Operation's Officer for the Western Kingston Police Division.
The Gleaner understands that the men were on a business visit to the area, but were tricked, robbed and killed. "All I can say at this moment is that it seems to be an unfinished business," Senior Superinten-dent Donald Pusey told The Gleaner at the crime scene. "We will be maintaining a presence in the area."
The incident occurred 24 hours after the island's security forces raided the adjoining communities of Federal and Wilton Gardens (Rema), also in South St. Andrew, in an effort to control the simmering feud between rival gangs.
Yesterday Senior Superintendent Pusey led a team into Allman Town, Central Kingston, where several rounds of ammunition were found along with two home-made shotguns and a stick of dynamite. Several persons were also taken into custody.
"Some of those we took into custody are people who we believe are involved in the crimes being committed in the area," he said.
