Bloodshed at dead yard - Gunmen target another wake as three killed in deadly attack

In a shocking eruption of violence, a wake at Mandela Terrace near Three Miles in St Andrew turned into a nightmare as gunfire rang out on Friday night, leaving three people dead and four injured.

The bloodbath unfolded just steps away from the Faith United Church, casting a dark shadow over what should have been a solemn moment of mourning. Instead, the night was stained with blood, leading to an outcry from the church and the community it serves.

According to Corporate Communications Unit of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, around 8 p.m. on Friday, the now deceased were among a group of patrons at a wake in the area when several motor cars drove up. It is reported that armed men alighted from the vehicles opened gunfire at the crowd and escaped. The deceased are 32-year-old Derek Goodgames Jr, 23-year-old victim Kimberly Plummer and Anthony Bennett.

In a defiant response to the carnage, members of the Faith United Church and the Waltham Park New Testament Church of God joined forces yesterday, marching through the streets with a clear message: they will not be intimidated by violence.

"We are taking our community back," they chanted, their voices echoing through the streets as they vowed to reclaim their neighbourhood from the clutches of crime.

Pastor Dr Stevenson Samuels, of the Waltham Park New Testament Church of God, spoke passionately about the church's mission to stand with the community.

"Our aim is to engage the community, to rejoice with them, celebrate with them, but to also mourn with them and to explore as partakers together ways in which our community, and we say our intentionally, can be developed to move to higher levels so that young people can be their best selves," Samuels said.

Samuels did not mince words when addressing the rising tide of violence sweeping across the nation.

"What we have observed is that recently the nation has plunged into a deeper level of crime and violence and mayhem where the multiple murders have increased from three and four to seven and nine and 10. And we have also observed that within the multiple shootings, we are noticing the deaths of several persons. That's causing us great concern," he said.

The Mandela Terrace attack is the latest in a series of cowardly acts by criminals. On August 11, gunmen attacked patrons at a Bingo Party in Cherry Tree Lane, Four Paths, Clarendon. Eight persons were killed and nine others, including a one-year-old child, injured. In another incident, seven persons were shot at a wake, one fatally, in Point Hill, St Catherine.

Samuels said the church he leads decided to focus their attention on Mandela Terrace because the incident took place in their backyard.

"This newest mass shooting and mass murder has taken place near to our church and we feel that we must hold this fort. It is our responsibility to take control of this area and what happens here. So, when we see this happening, we have to come out. We couldn't go Cherry Tree Lane and we couldn't go in St Catherine, but this is in our area and one of the things that we're doing is to decry and oppose the violence that just took place here," the clergyman said.

In the wake of the horror, the community's grief is palpable. Theonia Mantle, mother of 23-year-old victim Kimberly Plummer, shared her heartbreak.

"I know that Kimberly knew how to keep herself safe. She was a very smart girl but her time was short," Mantle said, adding that Kimberly, her first child, leaves behind a daughter. "As mothers, any mother that is in the shoes that I am wearing ... just hold the faith, trust in God and be strong."

Eileen Rodney, who lost her son, Anthony Bennett, in the shooting, turned to her faith for comfort.

"A true mi believer in a God!" Rodney said. "Mi just have to think about a scripture and calm myself," she added, reflecting her method of coping with the grief.

Pastor Charles Francis of the Faith United Church was stunned by the scale of the violence. "This community has seen its share of troubles, but nothing like this. The church has always been a beacon of hope and change, and this march is our way of saying enough is enough. We need peace, and we need it now," Francis asserted.