Controversy surrounds Wednesday night’s killing in the troubled Woodford Park, St Andrew community of a man who, the Observer was told, switched political allegiances last year.

According to the police, Courtney Gooden, who had stopped supporting the People’s National Party (PNP) for the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) last year and had been hanging out with men from sections of Anderson Road, known as ‘Track’ and ’20’, was shot dead inside an outhouse in his yard at Arundel Street in the community.

A source in the community said Gooden was given marching orders by his new-found friends and had returned to his father’s house at Arundel Street hours before his murder.

“They used him and them dumped him. They thought he was bringing too much heat on them so he was given 24 hours to leave their ends,” the source said.

“They used him to try and intimidate people from the PNP part who he had grown up around. He could have been killed by people from any side,” the source said.

Gooden, who police say was released from prison last year after serving time on gun-related charges, was reportedly wanted by the Kingston Central police in relation to a number of gun-related crimes committed in the community since late last year. Police say he was one of three suspects being sought in connection with the shooting of four persons on a bus carrying JLP supporters to an election campaign rally on June 14.

The four persons were injured during what the police said was a firefight between men on the bus and a policeman who was driving behind the bus and whose car was fired on.

Word on the street in the community yesterday was that the four JLP supporters were accidentally shot from fire originating in the bus.

On Wednesday, Gooden was picked up by the police and processed before being released in error. Hours later he was shot twice and killed.

His death occurred about four hours after minister of national security, Dr Peter Phillips and member of parliament for South-East St Andrew, Maxine Henry-Wilson had toured the troubled community.

In a statement to the press yesterday, Henry-Wilson condemned the killing and urged the police to make public the status of their investigations into the shooting up of the bus.

She said her party would be scaling down political campaigning in the community to house-to-house canvassing only.

“We feel the community would best be served by fewer public meetings, rallies and motorcades and as such we are cutting back on these types of activities,” Henry-Wilson said.

Yesterday, radio and television reported JLP information spokesman Dwight Nelson as saying that Gooden’s murder was rooted in politics. Nelson said Gooden was a worker for the JLP.

Tension has risen in sections of Woodford Park since the bus shooting incident.

Last week, a symbolic peace march was organised by Henry-Wilson, her JLP opponent, Joan Gordon-Webley and political ombudsman Bishop Herro Blair, in an effort to stem the rising rancour between political rivals in the area.

Woodford Park has traditionally been a staunch PNP voting block but residents in some sections of Anderson Road had switched political allegiance to the JLP during the tenure of former member of parliament, Easton Douglas, in 2002.

Since the switch, tensions have risen sharply and a number of persons have been murdered and shot and injured in the community.