MONTEGO BAY, St James — Gunmen last night went on the shooting rampage in the inner-city Rose Heights community and the neigbouring Brandon Hill community, leaving three men dead and five others injured.

The deceased have been identified as 24-year-old Dwayne Roper, otherwise called ‘Zack’ of Portobello; Demar Gordon, 18, of Rose Heights; and 29-year-old Matthew Reid, a taxi operator, also of Rose Heights.

According to sombre-faced residents who massed near the scene of the first shooting, one member of a group of men alighted from a car in the vicinity of a car wash in the community and inquired where he could get cigarettes to buy.

He then opened fire on Roper, who was washing his car, hitting him all over his body. Before driving from the community other men in the car joined in and peppered the area with gunshots killing Gordon and injuring another man.

According to the alleged eye-witnesses, the car then drove off with the trigger-happy attackers onboard who continued their shooting spree in the community.

During the wild shooting, the cabbie who was driving his motorcar along the roadway, near the border of the community was hit. The driver lost control of the bullet-riddled car which collided in a concrete wall. Four others sustained gunshot injuries during the shooting and were admitted in hospital.

According to the police, about 11:00 pm Roper and Gordon were among a group of men who were at a car wash in the Farm Heights area when they were pounced upon by gunmen, who opened fire, hitting them and three others. The five were taken to hospital where Gordon and Roper died while undergoing treatment.

The other three men have been admitted in serious condition.

In the second incident, about 11:00 pm officers were called to Brandon Hill after residents reported hearing explosions in the area. Upon arrival, officers found Reid’s body slumped over the steering wheel of his Toyota Corolla motor car, which had crashed into a concrete wall along the roadway.

His body had several gunshot wounds.

Two days ago, Pastor Knollis King of the Rose Heights based Covenant for Peace handed over a man, armed with Remmington 496 nail-gun was handed over to the Mount Salem Police.