ARMED with high powered weapons, a group of gunmen brazenly entered a churchyard where Finance Minister Dr Omar Davies was attending a funeral service and shot up several cars in the parking lot, but harmed no one in the shooting spree.

According to the police, the men entered the Hagley Park Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) church grounds at the rear of the premises shortly before 4:00 pm, hitting four cars including the hearse.

The investigators were not sure yesterday why the shootings occurred. There was no indication that Davies, a heavy critic of criminal elements in his South St Andrew constituency and those who shield them, was a target.

It was also that same church where the pastor had admonished mourners at a funeral service about their behaviour and mode of dress, which was less than modest.

“The men came from Fidel Close. They (the congregation) do not know if they were coming for anybody specially, but they came from there and were questioning people,” the police said.

“We understand that after that they opened fire and damage was done to four vehicles.”

The funeral service, which began at about 2:30 pm, was for Kaywane Linton, an Arnett Gardens resident, who was shot last month.

The gunmen began their shooting spree just as the pastor was about to deliver his sermon.

A deacon at the church, who opted not to give his name, said that Minister Davies who was attending the second consecutive funeral at the church yesterday was seated in the third row when the shots were being fired.

“When the shots started he sat still and his bodyguards stood up behind him,” the deacon said. “He sat in the same spot that he did when he came to the first funeral.”

Attempts to reach Davies for comment were unsuccessful.

The deacon also recalled that when the gunshots started the congregation bolted towards the vestry of the church, while he stayed to guard the entrance.

“I was standing at the door and when the shooting started everybody was running towards me for safety,” he told the Observer.

The service ended there and the body taken for burial.

Hagley Park SDA pastor Rev Roy Gordon had warned on February 27 that he would discontinue officiating at funerals at his church if female mourners continued to dress skimpily and the men imbibed ganja and alcoholic beverages on the premises.

But the deacon said yesterday’s service was no different as the women were scantily clad and the men were drinking and smoking outside the church.

“This has passed the limit,” he said. “The church has to resign from having any more funerals like these here.”

davidsont@jamaicaobserver.com