UPDATE: Justice minister believes slain Hanover bus conductor was targeted
HANOVER, Jamaica— Justice minister Delroy Chuck has theorised that the bus conductor who was shot in the head by a passenger in Hanover on Friday was targeted.
Chuck offered his theory while speaking at a Seventh-day Adventist Church in Lucea, which forms part of what was supposed to be a five-day stop in the parish where the justice ministry planned to promote its Alternative Dispute Resolution initiative.
The killing of 40-year-old Clifton Hart took place on a section of the highway across from a service station in Hopewell.
The motive for the killing was not immediately clear. However, Chuck told congregants at the church service that the conductor was targeted possibly due to an earlier disagreement.
“The truth of the matter is that he was targeted. But obviously, it is emerging from some disagreement he may have had with the offender,” Chuck stated.
“And, we have this right across Jamaica where people are in conflict and they are failing to use appropriate means in order to resolve their conflicts. They feel that they must behave like the Almighty and take life. They never gave life. Who gave them the authority to take a life?” he added.
“I am saying, we the right thinking members of the society must put in place the appropriate mechanism for people to resolve their conflicts. And that is what the Ministry of Justice is determined to undertake so that everyone will have the opportunity to get justice services and to be able to resolve their problems peacefully,” the minister said.
Reports from the Hanover police are that about 8:10 pm, the bus, which was loaded with passengers, was en route from Lucea in the parish to Montego Bay in St James when upon reaching Hopewell, someone in the bus asked for a stop.
It is understood that before the driver was able to comply, the gunman reportedly approached the door, drew the weapon and shot Hart who was standing on the inside step of the bus.
Hart who was of a Blenheim address in the parish and was commonly referred to as ‘Youth Man’ was reportedly shot in the head by the gunman who later escaped on foot.
Anthony Lewis
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