Rocky Point residents beg for peace

Relatives of Akiel Messam, who was shot and killed in Rocky Point, Clarendon, last Saturday night are appealing for peace in their community that they say is now overrun with gangs.

A family member of the dead man, who spoke to THE STAR on condition of anonymity because he is fearful of further reprisals, said that since the start of the year, six young men from the area have been slain in gang-related conflicts.

He theorises that, as a result of the drugs-for-guns trade, the once-peaceful fishing community is now filled with guns. In addition, he said that two vicious gangs have also been formed in the area.

"We are living in terror here. No one knows when or who is next. Rocky Point is overrun by gangsters and bad man, so I am begging the people to let us rise up and take back Rocky from the little boys them," the relative of the deceased man said.

"Once upon a time, the only thing we think about down here is fish. Now, West End man can't go across East End, and East End can't go across West because East and West are Camptons and Cubans gangsters."

According to a report from the police, Messam was in a shop having a cup soup Saturday night when four men armed with guns pounced on him. In an attempt to escape from his assailants, he ran on to a nearby street, but was chased and shot several times.

The police further reported that the injured man was rushed to the Lionel Town Hospital, and subsequently transferred to the May Pen Hospital, where he died while undergoing treatment.

"Right now we are shaken up. We aren't thinking about revenge, we just want the killing to stop so the community can get back to living in peace," another relative of the deceased added.