Clarendon nightmare - Cherry Tree Lane bloodshed worsens Havana Heights family’s nightmare

Three years ago, when gunmen stormed their Havana Heights, Clarendon, community and killed four of their relatives, Pat* and Pam* were left grappling with the overwhelming grief and trauma. The brutal attack shattered their sense of security and left deep emotional scars that have never fully healed. The violence marked a dark chapter in their lives, and the loss of their loved ones became a constant reminder of their vulnerability.

"What we went through and what we are still going through was really difficult because we were grieving while living in fear, and we had to be sleeping all about, because we didn't know why or if we would be next and it was a terrible ordeal," a relative told THE STAR yesterday.

Thirty-two-year-old Tashana Whyte, Sherona Whyte, 25, Luke Newman, 19, and Sherona's partner, 27-year-old Michael Solomon, were killed in the 2021 attack.

Then last Sunday, the murderous spree continued in the parish, when eight persons were murdered in a horrific attack at Cherry Tree Lane, near Four Paths. The chilling echoes of that violence brought back painful memories for the residents of Havanna Heights, re-awakening their fears and anxieties.

"From mi hear mi deh pon the toilet mi get diarrhoea same time. All now mi heart a hurt mi because me memba how mi did feel when the same thing happen to we and mi a tell yuh none a wi nuh wah death pan nobody family especially eight people wid all pickney in dere," Pat* said.

To compound their distress, a family member has been arrested by the police, who have labelled him a suspect in the latest massacre. This development has only deepened their anguish. One relative told THE STAR that the release of their family member's name by the police has put them at risk.

"We affi a walk and look round because from it come out we don't know what people a think. We nuh know weh family members weh lose dem loved ones a think," the relative said.

"Wi life inna danger and every weh we guh we deh pan edge and it nuh fair to we because even now we a grieve and a struggle fi put the pieces back together," said another relative.

Lawmen attached to the Area 3 Major Investigations Division arrested a man last week after he turned up at a police station in the parish, reporting on condition of bail on a previous case of shooting. Pat* and Pam* told THE STAR yesterday that after enduring the pain of losing four members of their family in the 2021 shooting, neither they nor their accused relative would wish that kind of pain on anyone.

"We could never wish death on nobody! The pain weh we guh through we would never wah one next family fi guh through dat deh pain deh," said Pat*.

The relative also told THE STAR that she firmly believes that their relative would not be involved in last Sunday's attack.

"They're saying he's involved and it's a reprisal killing, but if it is a reprisal, none of those persons that got hurt in Cherry Tree Lane, they're not related to the person who killed our family. Suh why on earth would he go do reprisal on those people?"

The Government has declared a state of emergency in Clarendon and has vowed to crush all gangs on the island. Pam is convinced that social intervention will have to accompany hard policing to bring the cycle of violence to an end.

"The only way this is gonna stop is through unity. I don't know if that's possible, but that's the only way we going to get through this. We need to unite and stop this! But instead of us standing together this is what's happening, and it's so sad," Pam* said.

* Names changed to protect identity.