Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer
'Joe', one of the elder residents of Glasspole Avenue in Rockfort, east Kingston, weeps yesterday after her neighbours, Violet Williams and her daughter Christina Bryan, were killed by gunmen. Seven persons, including an infant, were killed in the community yesterday morning.

Glenroy Sinclair and Dionne Rose, Gleaner Writers

With their hands folded across their chest, a group of teary-eyed women erupted in loud screams as Madden's Funeral Home attendants emerged from the gates of 3 Glasspole Avenue, carrying the bodies of 48-year-old Violet Williams and her 18-year-old daughter, Christina Bryan.

The impact of powerful rifles had torn away the left side of Christina's head. The two women were among seven persons, including a four-month-old child, who were slaughtered in the east Kingston community of Rockfort, during the wee hours of yesterday.

Miss Williams and her daughter were at home, when heavily-armed gunmen invaded the tenement yard in which they had been living for the past decade. The men kicked down the door to their room.

Hiding under bed

Based on the evidence at the scene, it appears that both women were hiding under a bed when the men made their way inside the house. They lifted the bed, picked up Christina's three-month-old baby and placed her on another bed. They then sprayed the mother and daughter with bullets.

Their deaths were a reprisal for a triple murder, less than a half mile away on Norman Crescent, which had occurred about an hour earlier. The victims in that incident were four-month-old Rana-Jay Hurd and her parents, Marlon Hurd, 27, and Shaineta Smith, 18.

Killers did not care

The Gleaner understands that the tenement yard in which the couple and their young child lived was targeted by men from another section of the community. It is alleged that the killers did not care whom they caught.

"Marlon nuh talk to nobody and dem gone with Marlon," Jennifer Adamson, his mother, said.

Sitting in a chair on the verandah where her son had been seated with his friends playing dominoes just hours before, she recounted the events leading up to his death.

"Me hear shots a fire and me jump up out a me sleep," she said, sobbing uncontrollably. "Ten minutes after me hear me 19-year-old son cry out and seh something happen to Marlon. When me go in deh me see Marlon on the bed, me draw weh the baby from underneath the mother's arm and the uncle carry the babya Children (Bustamante Children's Hospital). The baby dead a Children and Marlon dead inna him cousin arm in a him room."

Meanwhile, sitting beside Miss Adamson, Dawn Morris - mother of Shaineta Smith - was rocking back and forth as she held her stomach as if it was hurting her. But this time it was not a stomach-ache but the pain of losing her first born.

She said she heard of her daughter's death early yesterday morning.

"Puchie (Shaineta) was a quiet person, a don't know of her in no mix up with nobody," she said, shaking her head. "A yesterday she go look bout a work. A me first grandchild, if dem could even just spare the baby, not even spare the baby."

She added: "Me come and see her (the baby) curl up in the bed same way, she don't even know what tek place."

Trail of death

Following the death of Miss Williams and her daughter, it is believed that the persons involved in the Norman Crescent triple murder, killed 70-year-old Joan Richardson and her nine-year-old grandson, Mutombo Thomas.

Residents said Miss Richardson was at home bathing her grandson when the gunmen entered her home and shot her in the head. They then chased her grandson and shot him several times. His nude body was dragged from under a cellar.

The Gleaner understands that, about three weeks ago, Miss Richardson's son, known as 'Charlie Wap', was attacked and his house burnt by gunmen. Mutombo was 'Charlie''s son.

Reports are that yesterday's killings in Rockfort - which were part of at least 17 murders across the nation since Thursday night - were centred around a bitter internal feud between men from a section of the community known as 'Scheme', Glasspole Avenue and Oliver Road.