Pastors say church killing symbolises societal decay

Last Wednesday's brazen gun attack inside a Montego Bay churchyard reflects a broader societal decline, according to two clergymen.

The attack has left 38-year-old Corra Thompson's family devastated and the congregation at the New Testament Church of God on Water Lane reeling in shock and grief. Among those lamenting the downward trajectory of morals is Reverend Philbert Whynn, who was ministering in the church at the time of the barbaric incident.

"There was a time when I was growing up and a man who was smoking saw a pastor coming and he would put it (the cigarette) out. There was a time when they wouldn't have a dance or party or some shops open on a Sunday," he said.

"[But now] anything goes on a Sunday, anything goes anywhere. When we reach the stage that somebody goes through a church gate much less on the church porch .... there is no question society is on the decline. Plus couple years ago you would never find them shooting a woman, never. But today we are hurting women, we are shooting women."

Whynn recalled the chilling moments when a sound was heard coming from outside.

"We were praying and calling on God and paused because it was a natural response. Then I kept on going because I thought it was outside on the street because there are several businesses around the area," he said.

Whynn said the reality of the situation became clear shortly after.

"When I heard the second and third one and I could see where the lady fell and they were trying to back the door because we were wondering if this guy was going to come in, and I engaged the congregation to call on Jesus. It was terrifying, real terrifying," he said.

According to reports, a lone masked gunman approached Thompson at the church doorway, where she was selling books, and opened fire, discharging five shots before escaping in a black Toyota Voxy.

Renowned clergyman Reverend Dr Al Miller said the attack points to a decline in reverence and moral standards.

"When you see a church [service] can be going on and someone is murdered, it's the same issue of a deterioration of governance because there is no consequences for behaviour anymore," he said. "There are no values, no morals. So society is on the decline and it means there is poor governance as the root problem."

A similar killing shook the island in 2021 when 51-year-old Andrea Lowe-Garwood was shot dead in the Agape Christian Fellowship in Falmouth, Trelawny, by a man posing as a member of the congregation. Dwight Bingham, identified as the gunman, was later sentenced to 45 years in prison, while Leon Hines, who acted as the getaway driver, received a six-year sentence.

Miller opined that that crimes committed in or near church compounds should attract harsher penalties

""You must have consequences and serious consequences that it becomes a deterrent, but there is no deterrent, and I hear a lot of foolishness in Parliament on the argument that it is not a deterrent. Since when is it not a deterrent?"

Currently there is no legal provision establishing harsher penalties based on where a crime is committed. When asked about whether the law should make such provisions, Whynn replied: "A crime is a crime wherever it is committed and the law should carry out its course." However, Whynn said he believes justice will ultimately prevail on judgement day.

"But I can tell you this, as a pastor, while the law doesn't have anything to say where the crime was committed, crimes committed in church, if not the justice of the land, something else will happen. These men that do these things. if they don't repent and turn themselves in, God will deal with them" he told THE STAR. "Somewhere or the other, justice must be served, and if not through men, it will through God."