Kingston man killed in drive-by shooting
BRENDON ELLIOT, a self-employed cook, was yesterday shot dead on Maynard Close in Patrick Gardens, Kingston, in what is believed to be an ongoing gang feud in the area.
Elliot, 27, and who resided at Brooks Avenue, was gunned down at about 2:00 yesterday afternoon by men travelling in a grey Toyota Corolla motor car. At the time of the gunfire he was walking along Maynard Close with his girlfriend and another female companion. The women were not injured. His girlfriend was scheduled to return to the US yesterday afternoon.
Sgt Barrington Crawford, a detective at the scene, said the killing was linked to an “ongoing gang feud between Brooks Avenue and Sherlock Avenue. So it is possible that the killers could have come from that area.”
“(Elliot) was shot once in the foot and twice in the head,” said Sgt Crawford. “He died on arrival at the Kingston Public Hospital.”
Elliot collapsed at the corner of Maynard Close and Maynard Ave. His white cap was soaked with blood. About six inches away from his cap lay one of the five 9mm spent shells found on the scene.
Sgt Crawford would not say whether the drive-by could have been in response to yesterday’s arrest of a group of men on Sherlock Avenue. The men were found with an AK-47 assault rifle. Sources said gangs at Sherlock Avenue believe the police were tipped off about the weapon by persons living on Brooks Avenue.
But residents claimed that Elliot was not affiliated with any gang or involved in illegal activities.
For more than two decades residents of Brooks Avenue and Sherlock Avenue have been at odds.
One resident of Brooks Avenue, who yesterday identified himself as KC Spaulding said: “This is not politics. The issue started politically 20 odd years ago, but it is no longer politics.” He claimed that Sherlock Avenue residents were grudgeful that residents of Brooks Avenue were living better than them.
“… we cannot even go to the bus stop,” said Elliot’s sister-in-law, who declined to give her name. She, too, is a resident of Brooks Avenue.
On Sherlock Avenue, however, the residents seemed oblivious to the Brooks Avenue shooting as dozens were on the street to watch entertainer Beenie Man, who was performing for a music video shoot. The police said they had secured the back entrance to Sherlock Avenue to prevent any reprisal killing.
