O’NEIL Edwards, a member of the singing group Voicemail, has died in hospital.

Edwards was critically wounded after he was shot several times as he attempted to enter his home at Belloc Avenue in the middle class community of Duhaney Park early on the morning of Monday May 10.

EDWARDS… was attacked as he entered his Duhaney Park home 1/1

The main suspect in the shooting was found dead in the Chancery Hall community this two days later. Police had attempted to arrest the man earlier that day but he escaped.

Edwards’ cellular phone was found in the dead man’s possession. The body was clad in green short pants, white t-shirt and blue slippers and was found on Lady Hamilton Close with several gunshot wounds.

THE State yesterday vowed to continue its effort to capture Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke, recover illegal weapons in Tivoli Gardens and to rout criminal elements across the island.

The pledge came during a press conference at Jamaica House in Kingston where it was confirmed that 26 men have been killed, and 211 people — including two women — detained during the security forces’ operation in Tivoli Gardens that started on Monday to apprehend Coke, who is wanted in the United States on drug- and gun-running charges.

A teenager, who was shot during a gunbattle between armed thugs and the security forces yesterday, is taken from an ambulance at the Kingston Public Hospital. (Photo: Lionel Rookwood) 1/2

The operation, which was also aimed at restoring order to the community that had mounted barricades to prevent the security forces from entering, resulted in gunmen loyal to Coke engaging police and soldiers in fierce clashes.

The majority of the civilians killed are gunmen, Acting Commissioner of Police Glenmore Hinds told the Observer yesterday following the press conference.

A soldier has been killed and seven others injured, National Security Minister Dwight Nelson said.

He said weapons were recovered from the men, some of whom were found dead in ditches and manning barricades leading into Tivoli Gardens.

Approximately 25 civilians have been injured during the operation the press conference was told.

During yesterday’s briefing to update reporters on the joint police/military operation both Nelson, and Information Minister Daryl Vaz said the State will not back down from criminals.

Vaz said that it was now an opportune time to launch an all-out attack on criminals across the island, given the events that unfolded in Tivoli Gardens in West Kingston and other sections of the capital where heavily armed gunmen openly took on members of the security forces, creating mayhem and great unrest.

Said Vaz: “As a result of this operation there have been other criminal activities that have taken place in and around the Corporate Area which transcend political party lines and its strictly criminal elements either joining one another or using it as a distraction — and the fact of the matter is that I can categorically state that the time has come when we have to take the [fight] frontally, without any apologies.

“So therefore, don’t limit it to a matter of an operation in relation to the execution of a warrant. This country is under siege, and the time has come where it is going to be dealt with and this Government is ready to deal with it.”

Since the armed forces commenced the operation in Tivoli on Monday, there have been an upsurge in roadblocks and intense gun battles between criminals and members of the security forces across the capital city, which is more than 100 miles east of the tourist resort city of Montego Bay and on which a limited State of Public Emergency has been imposed.

The Hannah Town Police Station in West Kingston was also torched during the unrest on Sunday and three police officers have been killed while trading bullets with gunmen. On Monday, the Darling Street Police Station, as well as the Coronation Market were set ablaze by gunmen.

Speaking at yesterday’s press conference, Nelson said that the effort to arrest Coke was ongoing.

“The operation continues as we speak. The armed forces are examining each building to ensure that there are no criminals ensconced within and in search of weapons,” said Nelson, who added that a number of weapons, bullet-proof vests and binoculars have been found.

Nelson also said that Political Ombudsman Bishop Herro Blair, Public Defender Earl Witter and the Red Cross have been asked to investigate claims by residents in West Kingston that they are being abused by members of the security forces. (A complaint hotline, 946-1248, has been set up.)

Responding to a question at the briefing, ACP Hinds told the Observer that investigations are currently being conducted into the shooting death and injuring of soldiers during Monday’s operation and that murder and gun-related charges may be slapped on Coke, based on the outcome of the probe.

Meanwhile, an appeal was made by Health Minister Ruddy Spencer for gunmen within communities in the vicinity of the Kingston Public Hospital to cease from attacking hospital workers.

A clearing house on the operation in West Kingston has been established at the Hilton Kingston Hotel to provide information to the media, both local and overseas, Vaz said.

AS tension continued to mount in downtown Kingston yesterday, gunmen in St Catherine sought to capitalise on the mayhem, committing several murders in that parish.

Shortly before noon, armed thugs travelling in a white Nissan Sunny motorcar shot dead three men and injured a teenager at a bar and wholesale on Old Harbour Road, near the McCook’s Pen community.

Relatives of the men shot and killed at a bar on Old Harbour Road in St Catherine console each other at the crime scene yesterday. 1/3

The dead men were identified as Peter McDean, 39; Dwayne Murray, 23; and Robert Sankey, 26. The youngster, who was said to be about 14 year old, was shot three times and was taken to the Spanish Town Hospital for treatment.

His condition was not immediately ascertained.

That incident followed the killing of five persons — including a three-month-old child and a woman — in the volatile March Pen Road community about 2:00 am.

Two of the dead men were identified as Errol Miller, 53; and Alvin Stewart, 55.

Residents said the armed thugs ordered their victims out of their homes, set the premises on fire, and then peppered them with bullets.

Police responding to the incident were fired on by gunmen in the community. It was not clear up to yesterday afternoon whether anyone was injured in that firefight.

Police also confirmed that two men were killed in the Braeton and Waterford communities in Portmore yesterday, while two others were gunned down in a section of Central Village called ‘Big Lane’, Monday evening.

Robert Sankey’s cousins — Nastacia Wilson and Laurel Sankey — broke down in tears at his murder scene yesterday.

For the women — who said they were also related to Miller and Stewart — the sight of blood dripping from the establishment’s verandah was too much to bear.

“Is four (relatives) we lose in one week, look pon it; it wicked for us,” mumbled Wilson, who said she had grown tired of crying.

Murray’s sister ‘Chrissy’ cried openly at the crime scene, and lamented the gunmen’s brazenness.

“Them tell them that they were police and they must not move, then them kill them. Them kill me brother,” she cried, as onlookers, about a foot away, consoled the injured teenager’s grieving mother.

THE Government has agreed to consider a suggestion that the limited State of Emergency in the parishes of Kingston and St Andrew be extended to sections of St Catherine.

The suggestion to extend the emergency measures to the neighbouring parish was made yesterday by Opposition parliamentarian Sharon Hay-Webster, who said violence in the nation’s capital, Kingston, had spread to sections of her South Central St Catherine constituency, “where many lives have been lost since Monday night, including three children in drive-by shooting”.

Jamaica Defence Force soldiers provide security for Parliamentarians who met at Gordon House to discuss the current limited State of Public Emergency now in effect for the parishes of Kingston and St Andrew since Sunday night and the impact of the ongoing gun-battle 1/2

The Government on Sunday declared the limited State of Public Emergency for the Corporate Area as it intensified attempts to arrest reputed Tivoli Gardens don, Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke who is wanted by the United States to face drug-and gun-running charges.

The period of emergency is expected to last for one month, unless revoked before.

Members of the army and police have since Sunday been engaged in fierce battles with gunmen who have been trying to prevent the arrest of Coke.

“Is there any consideration of the extension of the boundaries of the State of Emergency to include possibly Portmore and Spanish Town because of the rate of violence that is escalating in those communities? I plead on behalf of the persons affected in those communities,” Hay-Webster said in the House of Representatives yesterday.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding, in responding, said St Catherine was not considered initially since the focus was on areas of concern, as defined by the intelligence that the security forces had.

“I take note of the events you have referred to. It is a matter, naturally, that we will have to consult with the security forces about, not only in terms of the need, but also in terms of the capacity to maintain the kind of intensity that would be required in an area that is subject to emergency powers, but I certainly will undertake to consult the security forces on the matter,” said the prime minister.

In the meantime, Golding said operations in Tivoli Gardens were being maintained to allow for detailed search for illegal guns and persons who may be wanted by the police for criminal charges.

He also said that during the period of public emergency a concerted effort will be made to go after gunmen in whatever community they may be ensconced.

HE number of civilians confirmed killed in the security force operation in West Kingston has reached 44.

Political Ombudsman Herro Blair, speaking on RJR 94 FM, said that he had counted 35 at the morgue with another nine bodies awaiting collection.

Meantime Public Defender Earl Witter is questioning the disparity between numbers killed and the number of firearms seized. Security forces have so far accounted for four firearms seized.

Witter added that he saw no sign of bodies being burned as alleged by persons claiming to be residents who called media houses during the assault on Tivoli Gardens and Denham Town which began Sunday.

One soldier and seven members of the security forces were injured after security forces entered the West Kingston communities to execute a search warrant for reputed local area don Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke.

Coke is wanted for extradition to the United States on gun and drug trafficking charges. He is still at large.

THE Government yesterday placed Jamaica’s capital city under a limited State of Public Emergency in response to acts of anarchy by gunmen determined to prevent Tivoli Gardens don, Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke from being arrested for possible extradition to the United States.

The State of Emergency — which took effect at six o’clock yesterday evening — is tentatively scheduled to last for a month.

Police take up positions in downtown Kingston yesterday as they responded to attacks by gunmen supporting Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke. (Photos: Bryan Cummings) 1/9

The decision was taken at an emergency meeting of the Cabinet on a day when gunmen attacked four police stations — Fletcher’s Land, Darling Street, Denham Town and Hannah Town — and fired on police removing barricades erected on major roads in West Kingston.

Police report that two cops were injured by gunmen’s bullets and a section of the Hannah Town Police Station was set ablaze by the thugs.

Last night, in an address to the nation, Prime Minister Bruce Golding, who represents West Kingston in the Parliament, said the actions of the gunmen were “a calculated assault on the authority of the State that cannot be tolerated, and will not be allowed to continue”.

“The threats that have emerged to the safety and security of our people will be repelled with strong and decisive action,” Golding said, adding that the security forces will be moving swiftly to bring the current situation under control.

“Criminal elements bent on violence and mayhem will be detained, and processed,” said Golding. “The criminal element who have placed the society under siege will not be allowed to triumph.”

He explained that the decision to call the state of public emergency was based on updates and advice from the security forces.

“The Cabinet took the decision to advise the governor general to issue a Proclamation pursuant to Section 26 of the Constitution declaring that a state of public emergency exists in the parishes of Kingston and St Andrew,” the prime minister said.

Speaking to the issue last evening, National Security Minister Dwight Nelson said that people will not be prevented from going about their legitimate business.

“I know that there are people who work abnormal hours, and so we cannot stop them from carrying out their work responsibility or obligation, which means that you can’t limit them as to the time they will have to be on the road,” Nelson told the Observer.

That point was emphasised by Prime Minister Golding who said that the security forces have been instructed to observe and respect the right of citizens to go about their lawful business.

“The city is not being shut down,” he insisted. “People are assured that they are free to move about and go to work as usual. Schools will be in full session on Tuesday.”

Golding explained that under the state of public emergency, the security forces are given extraordinary powers necessary to deal with this extraordinary situation.

“These include the power to restrict the freedom of movement, search premises and detain persons suspected of involvement in unlawful activities without warrant,” he said. “These are necessary measures to restore order to a community that is now threatened.”

Added Golding: “This will be a turning point for us as a nation to confront the powers of evil that have penalised the society and earned us the unenviable label as one of the murder capitals of the world. We must confront this criminal element with determination and unqualified resolve.”

Since Independence in 1962, Jamaica has seen five state of emergencies. Three — in 1988, 2004 and 2007 — were hurricane-related. The state of emergency of 1966 and that called in 1976 resulted from political violence in the run-up to pending general elections.

A dumb-founded Jamaican nation remained transfixed to radio and television sets yesterday as marauding gunmen openly challenged security forces for control of the streets of downtown Kingston.

With the tension still running high at nightfall, police counted two of their numbers shot and one civilian dead, casualties of the gunmen’s determined stance against the capture of Tivoli Gardens strongman Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke.

Police on patrol in sections of downtown Kingston. (Photo: Bryan Cummings) 1/8

In an advisory, the Kingston Public Hospital said it would only be taking emergency cases after gunshots rang out in the vicinity.

There were signs that Coke was digging in, with supporters extending and expanding the barricades erected in West Kingston since Monday night when Prime Minister Bruce Golding announced that extradition proceedings against him could begin.

The heavily armed gunmen appeared to be on the offensive, torching one police station and keeping lawmen pinned down throughout the day at three others.

In a clear signal they wanted to minimise potential casualties, police invited law-abiding residents of Tivoli Gardens and adjoining Denham Town to leave the communities via Industrial Terrace. But buses provided by the security forces to take the residents to an unnamed location, remained empty. It was not immediately certain if the residents were staying of their own accord or if they were being coerced to stay.

Rumours multiplied throughout the day that the violence would spread beyond West Kingston, causing many citizens to leave downtown Kingston or avoid it altogether.

In one incident late evening, police quickly crushed an attempt to mount a roadblock along Red Hills Road, northwest of the capital, exchanging gunfire with men who quickly fled.

“We tried to clear the roadblock and they fired on us but we have managed to clear the area and calm has returned,” said head of crime for the St Andrew North Police Division, Deputy Superintendent Altermoth ‘Parra’ Campbell..

Earlier in the day, Observer news teams met upon roadblock after roadblock in downtown sections of the capital city and heard gunshots in the distance. But it was unclear who were firing. Roadblocks turned up as far as Heroes Circle near Fletcher’s Land near Manchester Square.

“Reports so far are that one civilian was shot and killed and two police officers injured,” cops later told the Observer. “At this time, the reports are that at least four police stations have come under attack from gunmen,” the police said.

A station in Hannah Town was torched while the Darling Street, Fletcher’s Land and Denham Town police stations came under heavy gunfire.

But police could not confirm reports that a police vehicle was also stolen by the gunmen and also that electricity in sections of West Kingston was turned off.

The cops were said to have been forced to beat a hasty retreat when gunmen stole the vehicle with a police radio inside it at Slipe Pen Road in the vicinity of the Blood Bank. The gunmen reportedly sprayed the vehicle with high-powered assault rifles and drove away the car when the occupants fled.

“The man them out on the road crazy, we have to be watching. The situation has reached a serious state,” said one man who spoke for a group of frightened looking residents.

Meanwhile the Police Federation blasted the criminal activities as an attack against the State.

“The mettle and resilience of our police officers are being tested by resourceful criminal elements who have declared war on our security forces,” said Sergeant Raymond Wilson, chairman of the Police Federation.

“We are asking our members to take all necessary precautions in the face of blatant threats against their lives and their environs,” Wilson urged.

“Whilst we have sworn to protect every member of the Jamaican society we must ensure self-preservation, as this is the only way we will be able to execute our duties timely and professionally. I am pleading with every responsible law-abiding Jamaican to support us; this fight is for all of us,” said Wilson.

THE Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) has withdrawn its service to and from downtown Kingston, due to the outbreak of violence in the area, and the declaration of a State of Public Emergency in the Corporate Area.

In a news release, the company said all routes which end or begin in downtown Kingston, have been re-routed from the area.

“These include buses from Portmore, which normally travel via Marcus Garvey Drive. These units will now travel via Hagley Park Road and terminate at the Half-Way-Tree Transport Centre with the reverse arrangement being applicable,” the release said.

The release said Spanish Town to downtown routes, which normally run via Marcus Garvey Drive or Spanish Town Road in its entirety, will now travel to Three Miles, then via Hagley Park Road to the Half-Way-Tree Transport Centre.

Bus routes from Chancery Street to downtown Kingston will now run via Three Miles and Hagley Park Road to the Half-Way-Tree Transport Centre.

The number 500 route from the Half-Way-Tree Transport Centre to downtown Kingston, this will now end at Cross Roads, with the reverse being applicable.

Routes going easterly from downtown Kingston, to the communities of Harbour View, Bull Bay and Port Royal, will now end at Rockfort, near the bottom of Mountain View Avenue.

The company said the new arrangements, especially those for the easterly routes, will be assessed on a daily basis.

THE stand-off between security forces and ‘Dudus’ supporters in Tivoli Gardens, West Kingston, last week overshadowed a significant move towards peace in two other troubled Kingston communities.

Passers-by stood in amazement as residents from Big Yard and Cassava Piece, two long-standing rivals at the centre of a bloody feud, faced off in a busy parking lot off Mannings Hill Road.

Entertainer Mavado (left) converses with Rev Al Miller following the peace talks (Photo: Ingrid Brown)

Entertainer Mavado (left) converses with Rev Al Miller following the peace talks (Photo: Ingrid Brown)

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But instead of trading bullets and harsh words which has been the norm between these warring factions, men, women and children bridged the long-standing divide with firm handshakes, hugs and a friendly smile.

Throngs of residents from both communities walked slowly towards each other, meeting on the imaginable half-way mark in the busy Super Value parking lot to broker the peace deal organised by the Rev Al Miller-led National Transformation Programme (NTP) and the Peace Management Initiative (PMI).

A week prior, members of the NTP and the PMI toured the Cassava Piece community which is aligned to dancehall entertainer, Mavado and Big Yard which has connections to rival deejay, Vybz Kartel. At both communities, residents who had expressed a deep desire to see an end to the constant blood-letting, sealed the deal with hearty handshakes and hugs.

Jennifer, a resident of Big Yard, was emotional as she hugged the young man from Cassava Piece who had threatened her son resulting in him being sent from the area to board elsewhere.

Overwhelmed at what was unfolding before her eyes, Jennifer said she had been praying for this peace for the longest while as the violence between both communities had made it impossible for her to even venture to night services at the nearby church.

“I feel joyous and good,” she said with a big smile.

Not only was she forced to send away her fourth form son, but her six-year-old son and granddaughter had to take the longer route to get to school as they could not pass through Cassava Piece.

“Ah girl was carrying them through there one morning and someone shouted ‘why you bring them through here’,” she told the Observer.

An outward showing of this new peace commitment for both communities will be the staging of a Labour Day clean-up project followed by a peace dance scheduled for today.

They have also pledged to form a joint peace committee to ensure that dialogue continues before a situation escalates. In support, the PMI will establish an empowerment group for the women in both communities.

“You can’t do anything about the past but you can do something about the future,” Rev Miller told the peace meeting, stressing that without peace, prosperity and development could not come to their communities.

Following this persons were given the opportunity to air their grievances in bid to move forward,

“Me heart a bleed right now and me glad we all here to witness what a gwaan because me hear people ah say we fi kill off we one another and that is what them want fi see but it nah go happen,” said one of the players from Big Yard.

Noting that anyone who attempted to break the peace would be removed from the community, he said his side was committed to maintaining the new found unity.

Ivan Shaw, a resident of Cassava Piece and a peace facilitator, said they were committed to controlling the schoolboys and women who play a great role in the beginning of conflicts often started over petty issues.

Deejay Mavado, one of the key persons behind the peace initiative, urged the men to put aside their differences, even as he denied claims that he had been behind the spate of violence.

“Ask them if me ever bring a rifle come give them, but at the same time me nah tell them not to defend themselves,” he said. “We nuh deh here because we fear them or them fear we but is because we want bring back the love,” Mavado told the gathering.

He noted that even if Vybz Kartel, who was absent because of an overseas engagement, did not make it on that day, it should not impact the peace.

“Even if Adi have a show then that nuh have nutten to do with it because me and Adi good,” Mavado said.

POLICE are reporting that the capital is currently ‘much calmer’ following yesterday’s outbreak of violence when gunmen attempted to prevent the arrest of reputed Tivoli Gardens don Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke.

However, up until now, gunshots are still being heard on Red Hills Road in St Andrew nearby St Richards Primary School.

There were incidents of looting in the commercial district of downtown during the evening while light was cut off in certain affected areas by the Jamaica Public Service Company.

“There was some shootings last night but some amount of calm has returned,” a spokesman for the Constabulary Communication Network told the Observer moments ago.

In one incident late yesterday evening two policeman were killed and six injured after they came to the aid of a female motorist. She had turned up at Rockfort Police Station to report that she was shot and injured at the intersection of Mountain View Avenue and Deanery Road, St Andrew and that another motorist had been attacked at the same location.

The cops became stranded on the grounds of nearby Excelsior High School after being penned in by gunmen. The six injured cops were among those that came to rescue them.

After the situation was brought under control and the injured policemen were taken to hospital where the two died. Two policemen have been discharged while four remain hospitalised in stable condition.

The cops were attached to the Motorised Division and Kingston East Division.

Police said that certain key roads downtown remain blocked, including Spanish Town Road and those leading to Kingston Public Hospital.

A state of emergency remains for the area of Kingston and St Andrew.

Two policemen were shot and killed and six others shot and injured during a shootout with gunmen on Mountain View Avenue, Kingston 2 last night.

Mad Cobra
Mr Vegas, the frontman in organising the vigils for Voicemail member Oneil, is caught up in praise and worship on the grounds of the Kingston Public Hospital. Also pictured are former Byron Lee and the Dragonaires lead singer, Ashley (at back with bag) and (partially hidden), D’Angel. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

Mr Vegas, the frontman in organising the vigils for Voicemail member Oneil, is caught up in praise and worship on the grounds of the Kingston Public Hospital. Also pictured are former Byron Lee and the Dragonaires lead singer, Ashley (at back with bag) and (partially hidden), D’Angel. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

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“Him get two shot in the shoulder and he’s at Spanish Town (hospital),” the source said.

Cobra is the second artiste in as many days to be shot.

Meanwhile, the condition of singer Oneil Edwards of the group Voicemail, was still listed as critical, as he battles for life at the Kingston Public Hospital.

However, reports are that the singer’s vital signs have stabilised and the swelling on the brain had decreased.

Yesterday, friends of Edwards in the music fraternity, held a second vigil, this time at the hospital, where they sang and prayed for the singer’s recovery. Among the persons present were Stone Love selector, Geefus, Macka Diamond, Ashley Martin, Bugle, Raine, Nicky B, Mr Vegas and D’Angel.

The 36-year-old Edwards was shot all over the body and in the head by unknown attackers about 1:30 Monday morning.

According to reports, one finger was shot off and the bullet which struck him in the head had fragmented and was causing swelling in the brain. — Yasmine Peru