Cops appeal for info after schoolboy, two men shot in brazen attack
FALMOUTH, Trelawny — A 13-year-old male student of Muschett High School in Trelawny was among three people shot in a brazen attack by a gunman in Falmouth yesterday morning.
The police are theorising that one of the men was the target while the other man and the schoolboy were wounded by stray bullets.
Scores of frightened commuters, including students, had to scamper for cover after gunshots rang out in the normally peaceful, seaside town yesterday morning.
According to head of the Trelawny Police Division, Superintendent Dwight Powell, about 6:25 am the lone gunman opened fire on a man in the vicinity of the intersection of Georges and Market streets.
The three people were shot; their conditions are not considered life-threatening.
Investigators are following a lead, but are calling on the public to pass on any information they might have about the attack.
“We are working on some information that we have so far and we are appealing to the public who may have any information to assist us to solve this incident,” Superintendent Powell told reporters during an interview at the Falmouth Police Station yesterday.
He noted that the shooting was likely a one-off incident in the town and appealed to stakeholders in the tourism sector to remain calm as the police are investigating.
“I just want to indicate though, with a view to allay public fear, that we don’t normally have major incidents like this in the town,” the superintendent of police said.
“The township of Falmouth is a relatively safe place and I know that there are concerns that might be coming from other quarters, including the tourism sector. So I am going to say to the people of Falmouth that we have every interest to protect the tourism sector here, because we understand the value of it to our national economy. We want to ensure that our visitors who come to Falmouth have a safe experience.
“So we ask the public to partner with us so that we can get in our law enforcement mission, so that we can get the scourge of crime out of our space,” he said.
Murders recorded in Trelawny since the start of this year have seen a slight uptick. So far, the parish has recorded 19 murders, four more than the 15 recorded over the same period last year.