‘Wrong place, wrong time!’ - Mentally ill man among victims of Westmoreland massacre

A night of terror unfolded at the Instagram Lounge in New Roads, Bethel Town, Westmoreland, on Monday, leaving a trail of bloodshed that has devastated a small community.

Among the four killed was Anthony 'Rocky' Lawrence, a mentally ill man, who, according to his grieving family, was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Corporate Communications Network of the Jamaica Constabulary Force said that about 10:20 p.m., patrons were gathered at a bar when a black Fielder motor car drove up and several armed men alighted from the vehicle and immediately opened gunfire on the crowd. The deadly attack also claimed the lives of Damion Baker and Odane Scott, while four other patrons were left clinging to life after a hail of bullets tore through the venue.

But the most bizarre twist? One of the dead men, identified as Ashane Spence, was reportedly killed by his own cronies. Sources close to the investigation revealed Spence, who had just turned 30, was found with a gunshot wound to the back of the head--wearing gloves and carrying eight live .45 cartridges in his pocket.

No motive has been established for the killings.

Meanwhile, Beryl Smith, Lawrence's maternal aunt, who spoke to THE STAR on Tuesday afternoon, shared that her nephew had suffered from schizophrenia for many years. Lawrence, who was 54 years old at the time of his death, was a loved mason in his Westmoreland community.

Smith said that she shared a loving relationship with her nephew, despite his struggles with the mental illness. She said that Lawrence was born in Kingston, but migrated to live with her in Westmoreland as a young boy.

"I was raising him since he was a little boy when mi lef Kington and come down. Mi have him until him turn big man and stop go school and then start work for himself," she said.

"Because of [his mental illness], he will cuss you right now and by the time him ketch down the road, him come back and ask for what he wanted. Sometimes he wouldn't even realise say him just cuss you."

After completing his formal education in Westmoreland, Lawrence returned to Kingston where he sought job opportunities but his mental health deteriorated, Smith stated.

"He got sick up there and they sent him back to Westmoreland and he has been here since. He doesn't have any children. A me feed him, a me clothe him and a me do everything. Anything he wanted, a here him come for it."

Smith said that her family has been left broken since the tragic incident on Monday night. She will forever remember the phone call that reportedly shattered her world.

"Mi inna my bed a watch TV and somebody called and told me about it. I didn't go out there because I can't handle those scenes. I don't like blood. But how mi must feel? Mi just feel like something is missing. Mi know say him dead and mi know him never trouble anybody for them to kill him."