Community hero gunned down

With the back-to-school rush not far away, some parents in the St Andrew community of Belrock were anticipating having their children's book lists filled by Craig 'Biggz' Barton. Nicknamed 'Father Christmas' by everyone in the Kingston 11 area, Barton was described as a compassionate being who ensured that every child was attending class.

They said that his laughter was also contagious. But the 40-year-old will never make anyone laugh again or assist another child with school expenses, as his life was cut short by thugs in a drive-by shooting in the community last Wednesday.

"Him send every youth in here go school. Him put on everybody pot pon fire, and if yuh beg him, him nah tell yuh no. He will give the last that he has. Worse, back to school a come now, him would be filling book list for children, although he has two children sending to school also. Biggz was a just a good man. To know him is to live him. Him have the most 'god pickney' in here," one of Barton's loved ones said.

According to police reports, Barton was among a small group sitting outside his place of work when a green car drove up with men who opened fire. The police were alerted and the injured men were transported to the hospital. Burton succumbed to his injuries on Friday. A video of the deadly attack showed Burton and another man sitting on a bench when they were attacked. Burton, who was a licensed firearm holder, returned the fire as the car sped away. He was later seen walking towards a vehicle assisted by others.

As the tears welled up, one of Barton's relatives said she was praying for a speedy recovery.

"When mi hear say him dead, mi just start to scream. Mi couldn't stop scream. The entire community cry. We didn't expect him to die because he look so strong in the video, especially the way he fired back. But, he got five shots. He was even talking after he got shot. He was a strong youth, and nobody in here will ever say anything bad about him," she said.

One of Barton's employers, Tony, described him as a hard-working individual who had been working at the family's wholesale since he was 12.

"He came from very humble beginnings. Biggz was a man who could cook three pounds of rice and it share for 20 people. Every Sunday people would line up at his gate for dinner. He is always working and he was just a peacemaker," he said

"My son was murdered years ago and I never cry for him the way I cry for Biggz, because I know my son was doing things. I can swear for Biggz and the other worker that got shot that they are no wrongdoers," he added.

According to Tony, he has transported many injured men to hospital, but Barton's death hits him differently.

"This is harder because Biggz was really close to me. Biggz died a hero, because he returned fire and probably more persons would have got shot or even die," Tony said.

A senior officer at the Hunts Bay Police Station described Barton as a 'decent human'.

"He was a good youth and the incident is quite unfortunate. Based on our knowledge, we don't know of him and anyone being in any arguments or so on. He is not known to be involved in anything wrong," the police said.