HUNTLEY, Manchester – Political leaders and residents in this south-central parish have expressed concerns about the spate of crime, including three murders in recent days.

Manchester has recorded five murders since the start of October, with the three most recent occurring nightly between Monday and Wednesday, causing worry among residents in Greenvale, Huntley, New Green, Porus, and Mile Gully.

In the latest incident a bar owner was shot dead and a man shot and wounded during an armed robbery at a bar in Huntley on Wednesday night.The deceased was identified as Christopher Stultz, otherwise called “Blacks” or “Rabat”.Huntley residents said about 8:30 pm Stultz was at his bar in the north-west Manchester community with patrons when four masked gunmen entered and held up the establishment. The gunmen reportedly demanded cellphones and money, among other valuables, from patrons at the bar before shooting Stultz in his upper body multiple times. Another patron was also shot and wounded during the robbery. Cash was also stolen from poker boxes by the gunmen, who left the scene in two motor cars.

The injured were taken to hospital where Stultz was pronounced dead and the other man admitted in critical condition.

Huntley resident Tyrone Bucknor, Stultz’s cousin, said the incident has robbed the farming community of its peace and quietness.

“This place is a peaceful community, dem yah thing yah nuh happen… A right a wi doorstep. Wi nah seh robbery nuh gwan, if a man come and rob anybody dem ago tek what dem want and go bout dem business,” he said on Thursday.

“Wi devastated, it shake wi up because wi nuh experience these things; is a farming area and wi live as one here. Wi come a bar a night time, wi drink and bun a spliff, but wi nuh give nuh trouble. Wi tense, enuh. Nobody nuh go a farm today [Thursday],” he added.

Bucknor said Stultz died leaving two children — a daughter and a son. “He is a jovial youth, very hard-working, and wanted things to work out for his family,” said Bucknor.

He believes his cousin was the target of the attack.

“Dem [gunmen] come in, put the patrons on dem face, and rob dem of their cellphones, then dem shoot him. A haffi him dem come fah,”

Councillor Faith Sampson (Jamaica Labour Party, Johns Hall Division) said the community is stunned.

“It is really sad; it is heart-rending. A community is left in mourning and residents are still in disbelief that this has happened in this quiet farming community,” said Simpson.

Member of Parliament for Manchester North Western Mikael Phillips, meanwhile, has been calling for more resources for the police to deal with crime in the parish.

“Five shootings in less than three weeks. Four murders is unheard of in north-west Manchester, much less the parish of Manchester. It shows that there is no community, constituency, no one who is untouchable,” he said.

“The crime situation is happening right across the island. I remember the days when we only had one or two murders in the constituency for the whole year. Shooting in some areas is something that was unheard of,” he added.

Phillips suggested that proactive measures be implemented to stem the bloodshed. “The police need to take a relook at the parish itself. I for one have been warning of the migration of criminals into different areas within the parish and the slow movement of the police in dealing with the migration,” he said.

He suggested that the proliferation of car marts and scamming is concerning in Manchester.

“We see it in the advent of multiple used car dealerships popping up across the place. Just the whole effect of scamming on the society within the parish, so it was just a matter of time,” said Phillips.

He said the imposing of curfews in communities is not enough to tackle crime.

“What we want is for the police hierarchy to give some support to the police in Manchester so that they can investigate and deal with those perpetrators swiftly, that is the only way that we can stabilise communities, getting the guns out of the communities, getting the gunmen out of the communities,” said Phillips.

“The curfew is really just a Band-aid fix for just a period,” he added.

One councillor also raised concern on the worrying trend of crime at Thursday’s monthly meeting of the Manchester Municipal Corporation.

Councillor Mario Mitchell (People’s National Party, Bellefield Division) said, “We have had a severe problem in recent times. There were quite a number of murders. The parish itself is in a state of chaos,” Mitchell said.

However, mayor of Mandeville Donovan Mitchell and minority leader Omar Miller (Jamaica Labour Party, Craighead Division) told the Bellefield councillor to speak with head of the Manchester police Superintendent Shane McCalla directly. McCalla was absent from the council meeting.

“If my good friend has some issues that he needs to discuss, he doesn’t have to wait to come in the media [and] put himself at risk. There is an office that you can go to, Sir, it is not far from here,” said Miller.

Mitchell, however, objected to the suggestion of a private meeting with the police chief.

“The police are supposed to duly report to this meeting and I have not seen them for a few months. The councillor is telling me that I should talk to the superintendent on a private basis,” he said.

When pressed by the media following the council meeting, the mayor said he is worried about the frequent murders in Manchester.

“There is a concern. I have sought to have some dialogue with the superintendent of police for the parish, but there was a small fire in his office and so we have slated to have a meeting to see what is happening,” he said.

“It has become appalling now at the nightly murders within the parish. We don’t know what is causing it. I am making an appeal [for people] to speak to the police, somebody you know, give some information,” he added.

The mayor said the shooting incidents are frightening.

“My real concern is that we now are seeing some types of murders unprecedented, but when you hear that one person receives 20 shots for what I don’t know, it means that persons must be dead, and because of that, even the returning residents and the good citizens are in shock and fear,” he said.

“There are some results we are seeing based on some information I have received, but it is just to call on the powers that be to see how best we can have the manpower, tools, and equipment so that the crime in this parish can be abated as much as possible,” he added.