It's like a ghost town - Maverley residents fearful following shootings

Residents of Maverly in St Andrew are now cowering in fear due to ongoing violence that is currently plaguing the area, causing the streets of the once vibrant community to resemble a ghost town.

During a visit by our news team, several residents who spoke to THE STAR have likened the pace at which people traverse the community to the passage of a storm, as hardly anyone was seen on the streets.

The arrival of a police service vehicle was the first sign of ease as residents came out to speak with the lawmen.

“You see how the place look. To what going on, it come in like a hurricane blow through. Nobody nuh deh bout, everybody lock inside. Mi jus' come buy one cigarette and sit down easy a look out. Last night, (Sunday night) a bare gunshot. Dem kill one up there so,” Eli McLeish, 73, told THE STAR. 

A woman, 28-year-old Patricia Facey, was shot and killed in the latest flare-up. Two other females, including a 15-year-old girl, were also shot and injured when gunmen drove up and opened fire on all three residents.

“A di worse me see the place, mon. Maverley was a pretty, pretty place. You can ask the older folks. The police dem haffi go drop a tent in ya. A personal tent in the open, so people can see them, and the gunmen put down the guns," McLeish added.

But he is not fearful. 

“Dem nah do me nothing. So, me can stay out here," the senior citizen said. 

Another resident told THE STAR that her tenant moved out recently, and she is allowing time to pass before she advertises the space for rent.

“Nobody nah go want come here. It wicked, I tell you. When mi hear the gunshot dem last night, mi haffi lock up. Mi hear brap brap brap. By 7 o'clock a night time nobody nuh deh pan di road," she said.

The residents told our news team that the tension is a cause for concern, as there is no end in sight.

In an apparent act of retaliation, reports are that following the murder, a few houses in another section of the community were set ablaze, but they were quickly put out.