A feud between two gangs in St Mary has led to the destruction of two businesses in an arson attack and has also caused residents of Enfield and Iterboreale to feel on edge in the south-eastern section of the parish.

As a Jamaica Observer team made a recent trek to Portland, by way of St Mary, it noticed at the Enfield crossroad the charred frames of three containers which housed a hardware and a shop. On the same property many itemsl, including water tanks and equipment, were destroyed. Additionally, at least two motor vehicles were scorched.

Initial checks with the people who stood close to the Enfield Main Road turned up very little information. However, their body language had a troubling message which indicated that problems exist and they want to stay as far from them as possible. They shied away or ignored questions about the possible cause of the fire.

According to one woman who requested not to be named for security reasons, there have been some strange occurrences in Iterboreale and Enfield. Claiming she had no clue what caused these strange occurrences, she explained that one night a party was being held in Iterboreale and as the people danced, cops swooped down on the event. According to the resident, the police searched several premises before leaving.

The next event, which seemed strange to residents, was the killing of a dog at the hardware. Then, on the night of Wednesday, February 1, 2023 the hardware was allegedly torched.

“I was asleep when I heard explosions. When mi hear the explosion mi get up and seh mi a guh use the bathroom. I realised outside was getting red. When mi lay dung back inna di bed mi hear di fire truck a come. Something been going on which I don’t business about; what I do is lock earlier than the usual. Many nights mi feel like mi woulda guh weh but den mi seh mi an’ people nuh inna nothing. I just do my thing and mek sure take myself out of people’s way,” one resident said.

According to another resident, the hardware was beneficial to people in Iterboreale and Enfield, lamenting that they no longer have it at for convenience.

“It is more expensive to go out and buy so we would just buy material deh suh. I have to now go back to old ways of getting material. If you look you will see there is a lot of construction taking place. People used to buy from there a lot, especially because they used to make and sell blocks. It is hard to know they haven’t even been there long. They’ve been around since like 2018.”

The Observer reached out to a St Mary police patrol team that was covering both communities and was told that the suspected arson was likely reprisal carried out by the Enfield gang, stemming from a recent incident.

“Yes, there is a gang feud. The arson night have been a reprisal. Enfield has a gang problem. They have multiple gangs; people down there have been terrorising the space. The police has interest in them but we can’t publish the names yet. We know the people who we want,” a member of the police squad said.