CRIMINALS continued to rain terror in the Mountain View Avenue area of the city yesterday, shooting to death an old woman and her 21 year-old grandson to bring the murder toll since Saturday to five.

The gunmen also engaged a police patrol in a skirmish as they fled the house at 90 Mountain View Avenue which they invaded at about 10:00 am and shot dead 66 year-old Veta Williams and her grandson Paul “Frankie” Williams.

Williams’ 70 year-old husband, Vincent, as well as their niece, Marie Williams, 34, were also injured in the attack. They were admitted to hospital.

Two police vehicles were damaged in the shoot-out with the men who, residents said, ran in the direction of Saunders Avenue.

The house, some residents claimed, was probably targeted because it is a known haunt of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) councillor/caretaker, Colin Allen, who on June 19 contested the Vineyard Town Division in the local government election.

But Allen dismissed that theory and told the Observer that the murders were random acts, adding that he did not believe his life was in danger. The victims, he said, were close friends who had lived there all their lives and were not involved in criminality.

“I can’t say there was a direct threat on my life, because if they were looking for me I would have been the first target,” Allen said, explaining that he had only left the house minutes before hearing the shots ring out.

On Saturday Marcia Sawyers Williamson, a 56 year-old mother of two, and 32 year-old Mark Bitter were slain in the Mountain View area. A man, believed to be in his 30s and who was among two injured in Saturday’s shootings, died on Sunday.

Williamson was killed at about 3:30 pm inside her home at 2a Saunders Avenue by two gunmen on foot who entered her house. Her 13 year-old daughter, who was also inside the house at the time, was spared only because she hid under a bed in a locked room.

Gun violence has been a recurrent plague on the Mountain View area for years and residents told the Observer that this fresh round was triggered by a stabbing on election day, June 19.

That, apparently, added fuel to the simmering feud between People’s National Party (PNP) and JLP supporters from the area.

Guns were introduced into the conflict that weekend, claiming the lives of four people, among them an elderly woman and her mentally disabled adult son.

Last Wednesday, gunmen engaged police in a shoot-out in the vicinity of Jarrett Lane, and on Thursday, the car of Jacques Road area leader known only as “Boops” was riddled with bullets in an ambush by three gunmen.

Last Friday, during a tour of Jarrett Lane, Jacques Road and McGregor Gully, a series of peace meetings was held between political ombudsman Bishop Herro Blair and members of his Peace Management Initiative (PMI); the local political directorate, including Allen; member of parliament, Maxine Henry-Wilson; and JLP caretaker, Philip Henriques.

But the talks were marked by an air of resignation.

Since then, police and soldiers have increased their presence in the area, but yesterday, residents complained that that was just not enough to deal with the gunmen.

“I have a word for the police and the peace people dem,” one irate man told the Observer, “dem not treating this issue with urgency, because see, from them come here last Friday a talk bout peace and security, look how much people dead! Dem want a police post, and a soldier post, not just over the Labourite side, but in every community, PNP, JLP all a dem.”

An elderly woman nearby nodded in agreement.

“Gunshot kill PNP just as quick as Labourite,” she said.

A statement from Paul Burke, chairman of the Region Three grouping of the ruling PNP, described yesterday’s murders as sheer madness done under the guise of retaliation.

“Region Three recognises that the most unfortunate feature of this senseless violence is not that the combatants are killing off each other, but that the persons being killed and injured are decent residents whose only ‘sin’ is that they happen to own homes and live on the front-line of Mountain View Avenue,” Burke, said.

He also announced that a tour of Saunders Avenue, planned for today, has been postponed until calm and stability are returned to the community and the police advise that it is safe to conduct such a tour.