YESTERDAY’s final school day for the summer term is one that students and staff of the Tarrant Comprehensive High School in Kingston will not want to remember as they mourned the shooting death of one of their own.

The student, Gary Pierce, 15, was shot dead outside the school’s gate, while a man, identified as Donovan McLean, 30, who attempted to cool tempers was himself shot dead.

As if that was not enough for the traumatised students and teachers, more blood was to flow, as shortly after a student of Haile Selassie Comprehensive High School was stabbed on the Tarrant compound and was last night battling for his life in hospital. He was identified only as ‘Josimar’.

The police reported that a group of armed men attacked the three and shot Pierce and McLean, then stabbed the teenager about 1:30 yesterday afternoon.

Yesterday, Pierce’s relatives and neighbours claimed that his death was a reprisal for a stabbing incident at the school on Wednesday.

“Him friend dem stab up a boy. and the boy friend dem come back and fire pure shot,” said a woman who claimed she was a neighbour of the boy.

Last night police were interrogating at least six former Tarrant students who they said may have important information about yesterday’s killings. The six are among 25 students who were expelled from the school for indiscipline in the last two weeks.

Pierce’s schoolmates said he had no business at school yesterday as his end-of-year examinations had finished. The students said he was warned to stay away from the school as word had been going around that he would be killed.

Pierce ignored the warnings and turned up in casual clothing instead of his uniform. He was, however, denied entry by the school security and went to a lane at the side of a school which leads to Waltham Park Road, students said.

“A girl go outside go talk to him and when them look is two man dress inna black jump outa the bush. Them fire nuff shot and the two of dem run off. The girl escape without getting shot, but ‘Football Head’ (Pierce) never so lucky,” one female student said.

McLean, the police said, tried to beg for Pierce’s life and was set upon by the gunmen.

“He was telling them not to kill the young man and they turned their guns on him,” an officer said.

Onlookers were overheard saying he was chased around a vehicle before his attackers, described as gun-toting teenagers, shot him. McLean was pronounced dead at hospital.

The vehicle, a grey Nissan Sunny station wagon, had a number of gunshot holes and its windscreen was shattered. A small restaurant nearby also bore gunshot holes.

Police said that following the shooting the men ran towards a grey motor car and sped off in the direction of Molynes Road.

Pierce’s mother, Veronica Wallace, was overcome with grief and had to be restrained by a female cop and her neighbours after demanding to see her son’s body.

“Whe mi son deh? Look how mi a plan fi take him from da school yah September. Whe mi son deh?” Wallace wailed.

Pierce’s body lay in a crumpled heap on the outside of the school fence. His thumb appeared to be stuck in his mouth.

Some students cried openly as they peered at his body through holes in the school fence.