WITH increasing speculations on the streets about possible deadly reprisals for the five men fatally shot in Rockfort, east Kingston, on Monday, a state of public emergency (SOE) was declared in the area which covers several nearby communities where friends and foes of the dead men are believed to be gathering.

The SOE covers Pleasant Heights, formerly known as Wareika Hills, andnearby inner-city communities including Jarrett and Saunders lanes, McGregor Gully, Back Bush, sections of Bull Bay, and Jacques Road.

“Everybody know say the shooters are still in east Kingston, even if they are not in Rockfort, and the man friends [are] determined to avenge the killings,” said one Jamaica Observer source.

“The man dem were really heavy in the area and dem killing can’t go so. It painful that Mendez could stay a foreign and make him money, and him come back in a him hometown and a push peace and dem kill him. That can’t go so,” added the source.

He was referring to one of the five victims, 51-year-old Ortavia “Mendez” Austin, who was long identified as the man who should ‘run’ Rockfort but abandoned the role when he migrated.

Austin recently returned to the island and staged several peace events in Rockfort, designed to bring once-warring factions together.

The other victims were identified as Austin’s son, 29-year-old Okero “Kero” Austin; Odane “Bones” Josephs — who was believed to be the don for one of the most heavily armed areas in Rockfort — Rosrick “Teniel” Thomas, and another man whose identity the police had still not released up to late Friday.

Two people were also injured in that attack.

The police requested an SOE in major swaths of the Kingston Eastern Police Division, based on what a release from the Office of the Prime Minister said was “thorough assessments by the security forces which indicated that the elevated levels of violent criminal activity within the designated areas were of such severity and scale that they pose a significant threat to public safety”.

Commenting on the declaration of the SOE, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said, “[Monday] night’s murders in Rockfort have shocked the nation. We have taken decisive steps to safeguard the lives of our citizens and prevent further acts of organised violence. The Government, in close coordination with the security forces, is committed to taking the urgent steps to restore order and ensure the safety of the affected residents.”

The release added that the Government and the security forces will continue to take all necessary actions to protect the safety of residents and restore normality in east Kingston.

That position was underscored by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang, who the release quoted as saying, “The safety and security of our citizens is our top priority. This act of terror in Rockfort is a grave threat to the peace of our nation, and we will not allow criminal elements to destabilise our communities. The security forces have been fully mobilised and we will use all available resources to bring the perpetrators to justice and restore calm.”