MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Police here have implemented tighter security measures, including restrictions on public gathering, for the “majority” of this south-central parish to stem reprisals for violent acts committed last week.

Head of the Manchester police Deputy Superintendent Carey Duncan explained the need for the restrictions following last Friday’s attack by gunmen at the side entrance of Mandeville Market that left two people dead and five others injured.

“I am going to ask the people within this parish to just bear with us a little bit. Yes, we have some tighter security measures within the space… we are looking at some particular areas,” he said, during a tour of the market on Monday.

He added that the measures are to mitigate the risk of reprisals stemming from interpersonal conflicts.

“We are looking at some shutdowns. As we understand it, persons are looking at places where people gather to exact revenge killings. We are looking at shutting down some areas for the time being. For the majority of this parish we won’t be having any events being permitted in certain areas,” Duncan said and listed some of the areas being targeted for heightened security measures.

“The majority of our incidents are either occurring or stemming from some communities and that’s Albion, Newhall, Greenvale, generally the Porus area. These are some areas where we intend to tighten our security in terms of our operations and our mitigating risk assessments to ensure that these areas remain safe,” Duncan said.

He added that the police are working to restore public order in Mandeville.

“What you are seeing here is in response to some recent incidents that we have been having in Manchester, so we realise that persons are a little bit apprehensive to what is happening,” he said.

“We have decided as a team to come out to restore public confidence and order with the public spaces in Manchester and this morning this operation that you are seeing we have dubbed it as Operation Restore,” he added, and described last Friday’s shooting as “very unfortunate”.

Melissa Merchant, 30, a practical nurse and resident of Warwick district, and Nathaneil Bradford were killed in the gun attack.

Duncan said Bradford was the intended target of the attack.

“We are just out to reassure the persons within the space to let them know that we are here with them and for them. I want to commit to them that what they saw last week Friday will never happen again in this township,” he said.

“We are following some very strong leads in that incident last week. We understand that we are looking at persons from our neighbouring parishes and we hope to make a breakthrough very soon,” added Duncan.

He reiterated that criminals overseas are the masterminds behind some of the recent murders in the parish, while other killings are linked to lottery scamming.

Official figures from the police show 42 murders in Manchester up to October 5, an almost 40 per cent increase over the 30 recorded for the same period last year. The parish has also recorded 36 shootings, 24 per cent above last year.

“As far as our intelligence is suggesting, the young man who was killed last week Friday was in fact the target of the attack. In recent times there have been some incidents between persons from Three Chains and other areas in the community. What is interesting to note also is that we know as fact that these areas are getting some outside influence from persons who live abroad,” said Duncan.

“What we are seeing are people exacting revenge for killings that happened in the past. Persons really know who they are targeting; it is just so unfortunate that it had to play out in our town centre,” he added.

“What we know is contributing to what is happening now, there are murders domestic in nature though not domestic violence — persons who know each other who have their own conflicts and just decide to go out and exact revenge,” he said.

“We also know that lottery scamming plays a very important part in what is happening. Persons are involved in lottery scamming and then are being extorted by others and so the killing persists,” added Duncan.

He is appealing to anyone who witnessed last Friday’s incident to assist the police in their investigation.

“The incident that occurred in the market last week Friday happened in broad daylight in plain sight of a lot of vendors and shoppers alike, so I just want to take this opportunity to also encourage [people], whatever you may have seen or heard, it is of importance to us. This one in particular is something that we must put closure to in very short order,” said Duncan.

A vendor who spoke with the Jamaica Observer on the condition of anonymity said the police presence is welcome.

“The only problem is the crime that is getting out of hand in Mandeville town. It come een like is something that a go on weekly in and around Mandeville, so I hope and trust that everything works out on our behalf for some peace and quietness and order in the town,” the vendor said.

“I have been in the market for over 20 years and I have never seen anything like this before. We just want to get rid of some people who are breaking the law and not living by the rules,” the vendor added.

In relation to the latest murder, which occurred in Porus on Saturday night, Duncan said a motive is yet to be established.

Christopher Manning, 29, otherwise called Bulbie, was shot dead at the entrance of a meat shop minutes before 9:00 pm.

Manning’s sister told the media that she is puzzled as to the motive behind her brother’s killing.

“I wouldn’t have imagined that this would happen to my brother or any close relatives and to the amount of gunshots that he got I am wondering why would someone do that to him, because I have never heard of him and anybody in anything, like having any war, or any conflict, or anything like that,” she said.