Teen killed during early morning shooting

A 17-year-old who police say frequently came to their attention, was found dead on Thursday on Market Street in downtown Kingston, not far from the Denham Town Police Station.

He has been identified as Rondall Douglas. Senior Superintendent Michael Phipps, head of the Kingston Western Police Division, told THE WEEKEND STAR that about 3:30 a.m. Douglas was killed by gunmen from the Denham Town community.

"We have since done some investigation and we are theorising that a call was made from our lock-ups for persons to come and attempt to insert contraband into the lock-ups. We have information that a rival gang member from the same lock-up may have called persons in the community to alert them that these persons were coming into the area. So what they did they lay wait the person and actually shot and killed him," he said, adding that gunmen attacked the police while they were processing the crime scene.

"Information reached to persons that the police had killed the person. So gunmen from Tivoli came and fired shots at the team that was processing the incident scene. In that process, they damaged two service vehicles. We actually took evasive actions, pursued the men into Tivoli Gardens and we found a 9mm pistol with some rounds of ammunition," Phipps said. He also told THE WEEKEND STAR that prior to his death, Douglas had multiple run-ins with the law.

"He has attracted the attention of the police for some while now from juvenile delinquent, in that there were reports of him not doing something in terms of good order and proper behaviour whilst attending school. So he was a person who frequently came to the attention of the police where we had to intervene with his parents and everything," Phipps said.

However, one of Douglas' neighbours claimed that despite having his troubles, he was never a gang member and was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Nice likkle boy, him just love to follow, him jovial, a last night we a run joke," said a neighbour, as tears streamed down her face. Douglas' older sister, Monica Wagon, said that her brother had left home at 2 a.m. to follow a friend.

"A sleep mi a sleep this morning and when mi wake up mi shock, mi just cah believe she mi bredda dead and mi all get the picture a him," Wagon said, adding that since her brother's death, her mother has been inconsolable.