Double murder rocks rural St Andrew community

Alarmed by the rising crime rate, Garfield Leslie said that he has become so fearful that he usually just travels from work to home and never lingers outdoors for too long.

Yesterday, the Parks Road, St Andrew, resident leaned on a wall for support, his face a picture of desolation as police processed the crime scene where he saw the body of his 61-year-old father Sylvester. Leslie's eyes were red and filled with settled tears. This, he said, was a nightmarish reality.

"This morning [yesterday], I heard my aunt screaming that my father was dead and I went and saw him with gunshot in his head. All of this is hard for me to process," he said.

The elder Leslie and another senior citizen, 76-year-old Walton Pusey, were shot and killed by gunmen in the quiet rural community on Monday evening. However, Sylvester's body was not discovered until early Tuesday morning. Another man was shot and injured in the attack.

According to police reports, about 6:50 p.m., the men were among other patrons at a shop at the Park Road and Cushnie Road junction having drinks when a grey Honda Fit Shuttle motor car drove up. Four men exited the vehicle armed with firearms, and informed Pusey that they had come for him. It is further reported that the other patrons were told to put away their phones, and the men opened fire. They then made their escape in the direction of Bog Walk, St Catherine. The police were alerted and Pusey, a farmer, was seen laying on his stomach in a pool of blood. He and another man were taken to the Kingston Public Hospital where Pusey was pronounced dead and the man admitted.

The police were called back to the scene yesterday morning upon the discovery of Sylvester's body. The Honda was recovered in the Bog Walk area. It is alleged that the vehicle developed mechanical problems and was abandoned by the killers. Investigations are being carried out by a team at the Major Investigations Branch.

Leslie said he saw his father just hours before he met his demise. He said that although they shared the same yard space, he had no idea that his dad did not return home as they lived in separate houses. He said after hearing the explosions and learning that Pusey, a man he knew well, was killed, he was too shaken up to go outside.

"Right now mi can't explain how mi feel. Mi father nuh trouble people and was just a jovial man. Him was very hard-working. Normally, him wouldn't be out here suh because is not his hangout spot or anything, so I am assuming that he was walking pass or stop to talk to someone. But is not a hangout spot for him," Leslie said.

Another man told the news team that Parks Road will remain in shock for years to come.

"We barely have people quarrel in these parts. This frightening to everybody because some people don't know what gunshots sound like until Monday. Both man born and grow here and to know that dem dead like that... . The last time an elderly was killed around here was 1980, so imagine that," the man said.