We have long known that beasts posing as humans roam among us, emerging from their dungeons to commit the most horrific acts of savagery and sow fear among the people of this country.

On Monday they sunk to a new low; killing four homeless people in the Corporate Area and injuring two others in pre-dawn attacks.

Three of the victims lived on the streets in downtown Kingston. Our story in yesterday’s edition identified them as “Chris”, who begged at the intersection of East and East Queen streets for years, and was known as the homeless man who had a bath at least twice daily; “Soljie”, who was always seen with several “gold” chains around his neck; and “Tallman”, who constantly had three barrels of possession on Hanover Street.

Additionally, a homeless man was attacked and killed on Spanish Town Road in west Kingston, another was attacked on Constant Spring Road near Twin Gates Plaza in Half-Way-Tree, and another on Derrymore Road, also in Half-Way-Tree.

We can well understand the fear that now exists among the homeless community. For really, the people who live on our streets are poor and defenceless.

No one will challenge that the State has a responsibility to help these unfortunate Jamaicans, even as we acknowledge that some facilities do exist to offer them assistance. The fact, though, is that more can be done, despite the reality that many of them opt not to access those facilities. Maybe the answer to that lies in the general state of those facilities, but that’s a discussion for another time.

Our focus today is the need for the wider public to stare down the savages who are determined to unleash fear on the country.

We have long maintained that these pathetic parasites are cowards, because they prey on the weak and defenceless — old men and women, children, babies, and now the homeless. Anyone who gives them cover should be dealt with to the full extent of the law.

Monday’s atrocity, we hold, is another reason for the country to fully embrace the Government’s investment in the national closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance system, better known as JamaicaEye.

Readers will recall that last July the police effectively used the technology to apprehend four men suspected to have been committing a series of robberies in Kingston and St Andrew. The police also reported that a firearm had been seized in that operation.

Months before that, the police, aided by JamaicaEye, conducted an operation which led to the arrest of five young men, the recovery of weapons and ammunition.

And let us not forget that in January last year the technology helped the police to quickly identify and track a taxi driver who had mowed down a police constable on traffic management duties.

Last March, Prime Minister Andrew Holness, in his contribution to the 2020/21 Budget Debate, told us that the State has allocated $1.2 billion to increase the number of CCTV cameras across the island. An update on this purchase is in order.

We support this programme because it has great potential. Our hope is that the areas where Monday’s atrocities were committed are already covered under JamaicaEye and that the scum responsible for those heartless attacks will be caught and punished.