NEWLY appointed head of the Kingston West Police Division, Senior Superintendent Steve McGregor, has vowed to repel criminal elements in the aftermath of a murder and a series of gun attacks against the police between Monday night and Tuesday morning.

Minutes after 9:00 pm, Monday, a gang of armed hoodlums attacked and shot a man, identified only as ‘Teeky Locks’, several times at Bread Lane in the hotbed community of Denham Town. He died on the spot.

The attack took place despite a heavy presence of police and soldiers patrolling the area, which has seen the murders of more than 20 people since a fierce gang feud broke out over turf and extortion rights in the community earlier this year.

The latest murder took place close to the spot where 11-year-old Tassanique James was shot and killed during a wild shooting incident last month.

According to McGregor, four different police patrols were shot at by gunmen in the community in the aftermath of the killing. However, no member of his team was injured, he said.

The senior policeman, who is known for his no-nonsense approach to crime-fighting, said the police will be launching a counter-offensive and will not rest until those responsible for the bloodshed are brought to book.

“The police were fired on at four different locations. This cannot be allowed to continue. There will be joint police/military operations. It will include officers from the Mobile Reserve, the Organised Crime Investigative Division, the Flying Squad, the Kingston West and Kingston Central police, and Jamaica Defence Force soldiers,” he said.

A number of curfews have been imposed in the downtown Kingston area and a number of men have been detained during a joint divisional operation between cops from Kingston Central and Kingston West.

The detainees were yesterday being processed.

The communities of Denham Town and the adjoining area known as Spanglers, which encompasses the former lair of the incarcerated Donald ‘Zeeks’ Phipps, has been torn apart by infighting between gang operatives which were formerly aligned to each other.

In Denham Town, police say a group of young gunmen are fueding for control of extortion rights and are ruthless in their bid to take over the illegal racket which has in the past raked in millions of dollars.

“The sons of two prominent dons, one of whom is now dead, are battling for control of the extortion, but we will never allow them to take back control so they are fighting a losing battle,” one cop, who wished to remain unidentified, told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.

McGregor said splintering of the criminal organisations in Denham Town was the perfect opportunity for the security forces to keep them on the back foot and take back the streets.

“Herein lies our opportunity to stamp it out once and for all. The guns must be nearby, because they access them very easily at night,” he said.

Meanwhile, on Monday the Observer learnt that borderlines had been drawn in West Kingston and that criminal elements were targeting innocent residents who ventured into certain areas.

“The gunmen dem tell us seh no one will be spared, even di baby pon di breast will be harmed if people venture pass certain areas in the community,” one resident disclosed.

The resident, who did not want to be identified, said the latest development has created panic and people were fleeing the communities out of fear.

“Right now, people don’t know what to do… you can be walking in the area and get attack for no reason at all,” the Observer was told.

— Additional reporting by Kimmo Matthews