ST JAMES, Jamaica — A suspected gangster, who is on bail pending trial for the murder of a rival, was allegedly the intended target of Wednesday’s car chase and shooting spree in Montego Bay, St James, that left three people dead and several injured, according to the police.

He is said to have ignored court instructions to stay away from the parish.

“What we know is that a funeral took place in the area and, coming out of that, there is one person who was in attendance who… is before the court for the murder of a man who was a top-tier member of a rival gang,” Assistant Commissioner of Police for Area One, Clifford Chambers told OBSERVER ONLINE.

He added; “The efforts of the police to have this person remain in custody pending the trial did not go the way we wanted it to. But the judge was able to provide conditions [of his bail] where he ought to have stayed out of the parish. Information came about somehow that he [attended] the funeral and, coming out of that, it would appear that the rival faction learned of this, and they were in pursuit of this man.”

The daring daylight shooting is just the latest gang-related incident to wreak havoc in the western city despite the police’s efforts to wrestle control from marauding malcontents.

READ: Seven bystanders injured in Montego Bay gun battle, three dead

It was an unintended effect, said Chambers, of a clampdown on gang-prone communities. 

“[The] areas which are rival factions are under heavy police-military presence. There are active operations targeting all of those areas, so it is hard for the gangs to go after each other,” the ACP explained.

“In this particular case, a result of that is, I think, they chose to launch this attack when the opportunity presented itself. Unfortunately, it was in the city where other persons got caught up in it,” he added, confirming that passers-by were also injured in the daytime gun attack.

“Five other persons were shot. Some of them are in hospital and some have been treated and released,” he said.