Thursday was set to have been a busy day at property agents and auctioneers DC Tavares & Finson, with several residential and commercial lots up for auction.

But an overnight firebombing at the company’s Belmont Road, New Kingston offices, later followed by a bomb threat, forced the postponement of the auction, which was to have commenced at 11:00 am. The firebombing also affected the adjoining offices of insurance brokers Thwaites, Finson Sharp.

Speaking to the Observer in his offices following a sweep of the premises by members of the Bomb Squad, DCT managing director William Tavares-Finson said the firebombing took place at approximately 3:00 am Thursday.

“…Several men threw Molotov cocktails at the building, three on this side, two on the other side. Then at 10:30 am we received a call saying that there was a bomb in the building, upon which we evacuated. The police are investigating,” he explained.

Regarding the auction, Tavares-Finson said the decision to postpone was taken having regard to the prospective buyers.

“When we evacuated the building, naturally, our phones were unattended and there had been calls from persons with an interest in the auction, and who wanted information, so we didn’t want to disenfranchise them from the process.”

When the Observer arrived on the scene, staff members as well as interested parties had converged on the sidewalk outside the property. The walls around the door to Thwaites Finson Sharp were visibly blackened, as was the front wall – to the right of the main door – of DCT.