Park Lane tense after double murder
The community of Park Lane off Red Hills Road in St Andrew remains on edge following the murder of two men early Tuesday morning.
The residents were extremely tight-lipped when the news team visited the community yesterday. They spoke in hushed tones among themselves as a team of police officers and members of the church community did a walk-thorough. One of the cops was also observed giving a counselling session to a group of children in a yard footsteps away from where the men were killed.
The deceased have been identified as 40-year-old Patrick Thompson and Yohan Green, both of Park Lane, Kingston 19. Reports are that at about midnight, a team of officers was on patrol in the area when explosions were heard. After a search of the area, Thompson and Green were found lying in a pool of blood. They were taken to hospital where they were pronounced dead.
An overturned chair and a blood trail was still evident on the ground yesterday. One resident told THE STAR that one of the men was sitting on the chair when he was attacked. The other man attempted to run from the gunmen but collapsed shortly after he was shot. The resident stated that he is unaware of what triggered the killings but said he will not venture outdoors unless it is necessary.
Deputy Superintendent Donovan Dallas of the St Andrew North Police Division said that based on information received, the killings are a part of an internal gang conflict.
"We had a walk-through today [yesterday] with members of the pastoral fraternity to reassure the residents that we will be maintaining a 24-hour presence until we can bring the situation to some level of normalcy," Dallas said. "Park Lane has been peaceful for a while and we are reassuring the residents that we are here for them."