WESTERN BUREAU – A small grocery store was razed by fire in retaliation for the murder of a young mason in the Pitfour section of St James yesterday, the second such incident in the parish in less than a week.

No one has been arrested in connection with the fire.

Meanwhile, the police are seeking two men in connection with the stabbing death of 22 year-old mason, Ricardo Salmon.

Salmon died in the Cornwall Regional Hospital, Wednesday, from stab wounds he received during Tuesday afternoon’s attack by two men from his community, cops said.

According to the Granville police, at about 5:00 pm on Tuesday, Salmon had an argument with 17 year-old Jermaine Kerr. During the altercation, cops said, Rohan ‘Baldhead’ Barnes , a 35 year-old shopkeeper, held Salmon from behind while Kerr stabbed the mason in his abdomen. Both men then fled the community and are now being sought, cops said.

Barnes, according to lawmen, was freed of gun related charges in the Western Regional Gun Court some time last year after members of the Area One Flying Squad found two guns in his house.

When neighbours learned of Salmon’s death early yesterday morning, they became incensed. Their anger spilled over at about 3:20 am, and culminated in the torching of Barnes’ fully-stocked grocery store. The small board structure was burnt to the ground but the Montego Bay Fire Department managed to keep the fire from spreading to neighbouring properties in the densely populated squatter community. Loss has been placed at more than $100,000.

The fire comes on the heels of another blaze that took place between last Thursday night and last Friday morning when two houses were gutted by fire in Liliput, a community located on the outskirts of Montego Bay. Police said that incident stemmed from the stabbing death of a 23 year-old computer technician. One of the houses that was burnt out was said to have belonged to the sister of one of the accused men, while the other was said to be owned by the accused man’s sister. There have been no arrests.