ANGER and frustration were evident on the faces of residents of Denham Town in west Kingston on Sunday as they staged a second day of protest over the fatal shooting of 32-year-old Horaine Glenn by a member of the Jamaica Defence Force in the community on Saturday.

“Police a kill innocent [people], soldier a kill the innocent, and gunman a kill the innocent,” said one resident of the violence-plagued community which has been declared a zone of special operations (ZOSO).

The angry residents strew debris across Charles Street and other roads in the community and set them ablaze in protest.

They charged that Glenn was shot in cold blood and called for the removal of soldiers who are stationed in the community as part of the operations under the ZOSO.

According to the protesting residents, some soldiers abuse their power and exercise little conscience when assaulting people in the community.

On Sunday morning a team of senior military personnel visited the scene to hear from residents and assure them that the matter was being thoroughly investigated.

The police have reported that about 6:20 pm on Saturday a JDF team was on foot patrol on Charles Street when they saw a group of four men who aroused their suspicion. The team approached the men and proceeded to search them.

According to the police, while conducting the search a woman who was behaving boisterously spat on members of the JDF team.

It is further reported that the soldiers were approached by Glenn who had a beer bottle in his possession and proceeded to pour the contents on a member of JDF team.

The soldiers reportedly attempted to take Glenn into custody when he ran into a yard at 97 Charles street. He was pursued into the yard where he allegedly attempted to disarm a soldier of his M-16 rifle.

The police say it was during this tussle that Glenn was fatally shot.

But the residents have described the police report as fictitious as they claimed they just don’t know who to trust.

One resident who identified herself as Nicky told the Jamaica Observer that sometimes the soldiers who patrol the community are brutish and disrespectful. She said that was what led to the fatal shooting of Glenn.

“Saturday when mi come out, mi see the soldier dem over deh suh with two little youths and dem want to pull dem inna a yard. Me and mi two daughter dem start ball out fi murder.

“A so people start come down. Di youth who they killed came on the scene and a tell dem seh a little pickney dem a beat, and dem lick di youth then dem kill him. Weh night is a big old man di soldier dem box down. That old man could be his grandfather. It doesn’t make sense. A better dem leave,” argued Nicky.

“Sometimes you have some good and bad soldiers. Sometimes they come with a lot of expletives. When they just came around here in October 2017, we treat them good. If dem nuh have bathroom, wi mek dem go inna we house go use wi bathroom. We run light give them and we do everything. Sometimes when dem come, dem just want to batter-bruise people. A from Friday dem a behave like dem want to kill somebody. Dem a walk wid dog and just a kick off people gate,” added the angry resident.

Glenn’s baffled mother, Janet Haye, demanded justice during her interview with the Observer, as she claimed that she witnessed the moment when her unarmed son was being fatally shot.

“Mi run go inna di yard and see when him a ease up and di soldier seh ‘Weh you a get up a go,’ and shot him again. Dat alone mi see,“ said Haye.

”When me hear di first shot dem mi think a inna di air dem a fire it fi run di crowd, but when me see everybody a run a go up deh a so come now mi go up deh and push di gate and go in deh — and mi see when di soldier give him di last shot. A just because him a defend di little youth dem,” added Haye.

Other irate residents said there was no way the soldier should have shot and killed an unarmed man who was no threat to them.

“We can’t feel good. The man they killed, his thing is to party, keep himself clean, and look a lot of girls and take care of his one son. How wi fi feel good about this? He was not wanted. Dem kill him cold-blooded because Horaine is not a gunman. Di road nah go stop block,” declared another resident.