There was a tense calm in Spanish Town for much of Monday after Sunday’s late-night fatal shooting of one man and the injuring of another.

The attack came just days after National Security Minister Peter Phillips, the police and concerned citizens who live in the old capital met at an eatery in the town and tried to find solutions to curb the wave of violence which is sweeping through the historic town.

Sunday’s shooting has shown that Phillips’ speech and the setting up of a committee to combat the perennial crime problem were obviously not enough to stop the gun-violence which has left 108 persons dead in Spanish Town and its environs so far this year.

Police report that at about 11.30 Sunday night, gunshots were heard in the Burke Road area and when they arrived on the scene two men were found suffering from bullet wounds.

One of the men, 20 year-old Parnell “Codie” Wright, was pronounced dead at the Spanish Town Hospital while another 20-year-old man was admitted. His wounds are considered serious.

Detectives from the Spanish Town Criminal Investigation Bureau who are investigating the murder and shooting incident, say they have no motive for the shootings, but a source in the area told the Observer that Codie and two of his associates were from the Ellersie Pen area. That community is under the rule of the One Order Movement, whose former head, Oliver “Bubba” Smith, was killed two weeks ago.

“Codie” was gunned down in the vicinity of the KFC restaurant along Burke Road, an area reputed to be under the control of the Klansman gang.

“Three of them were at the gas station at Burke Road when the man dem rush them and start chase them. Them run and them get shot up near KFC,” one resident said Monday. “One dead, one get shot up bad and one escape.”

Some Spanish Town residents are fearful that the recent shooting will only make things worse.

“It not going to stop. You soon come over here again come report ’bout more murder,” one woman predicted.

By Monday afternoon, the usual hustle and bustle returned to the town and persons were seen going about their business – some appeared nervous.

Life seemed normal in the market as vendors displayed their wares and a few persons milled about the market.

Cops from the Special Anti-Crime Task Force, the Area Four Special Squad and police from Spanish Town conducted operations in the Salt Pond Road and other areas of the town. These are areas that are said to be under the control of the Klansman gang.

“We are going to keep working at fighting crime in the town. These criminals are out of control and we have to keep up our vigilance,” one officer said.