Massacre on McBride Hill - Grief in Central Village as gunfire rips family apart

As Donna Gidden sat trembling outside the Central Village Health Centre on Thursday morning, her tears told a story of unimaginable horror. Words failed her, but the sorrow etched on her face spoke volumes.

Clutching her niece for support, the distraught mother mourned a blood-soaked night that turned her world upside down. Her 21-year-old son, Matthew Smith, and her two nephews, Jaheem and Geovanni Ferguson, were murdered when gunmen stormed their home on McBride Hill, Central Village, St Catherine, around 9:45 p.m. Wednesday.

"Dem kill mi baby," Gidden cried. "Is almost di same place dem kill him father eight years ago, and now dem come kill mi son and mi nephew dem. Dem a little boys who nah trouble nobody at all. Mi son is mi hand and foot. Him cook for me and help mi around di house."

According to Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police Christopher Phillips, the young men were known to the police, but there was no evidence linking them to criminal activity.

"They are known to the police ... because operations were done here before but none of them were featured in any crime. It is just maybe how some of them profile sometimes so the police will just get some information and check them out," he said.

Similarly, Gidden spoke highly of the youngsters, who she said were not troublemakers.

"Dem a ask why we a cry and say wi fi shut up. None a mi family involve in wrongdoings. Dem youth deh love game and dem phone. Dem smoke dem weed, but dem no gunman," Gidden declared, her voice trembling with frustration.

The senior cop said residents alerted the police after hearing explosions in the community.

"When we arrived, the bodies of three males and a dog were found dead. This incident is tied to an ongoing gang feud between men from Elbow and Compound and those from Zion Lane. We believe this was a reprisal attack," Phillips said.

"A one wicked act, man, because the poor dog never do anything. Yuh never see di youth dem without dem dog and di dog dead with dem," a resident said.

Outside the health centre in Spanish Town on Thursday, grief-stricken relatives huddled in shock, their faces a portrait of pain. Gidden, her body trembling, recounted the last moments she shared with the deceased.

"Mi son and him cousins deh with mi di whole day, a run joke and help mi put in a window pane. In di evening, mi cook, and everybody eat. Mi go lay down wid mi grandkids dem, and Matthew go next door fi talk with dem cousins from overseas," she recalled.

But the tranquility shattered when a hail of gunfire echoed through the night. "Mi start call dem phone, but none a dem answer," she sobbed.

Moments later, a chilling call from overseas confirmed her worst fears.

"Dem cousin from farrin say dem did deh pon video call wid dem when di shots fire. After dat, nothing," she said, her tears flowing freely.

Meanwhile, in McBride Hill, the steep terrain and dense vegetation cast an eerie shadow over the tragedy. Bloodstains marked the ground, and the oppressive silence was only broken by the occasional chirp of birds.

"I can't believe these men would take on this hill to commit murder," a policeman muttered.

Residents revealed that after committing the cowardly act, the gunmen left the community firing several rounds of ammunition "like dem a celebrate or a show off".

For Gidden and her family, the senseless massacre has left a gaping hole in their lives. "Dem kill mi joy, mi son, mi nephews. Mi life will never be di same," she whispered, her tears falling like rain drops.