KINGSTON, Jamaica – July 2 was an extremely bloody Saturday as nine people were killed across the island in separate incidents, the police have reported.

The police’s Corporate Communications Unit confirmed that nine people were killed on Saturday and two more were killed on Sunday. Two people were also killed on Friday night. According to the Jamaica Constabulary Force statistics, 13 people were killed in a 60 hour period over the weekend.

One of the people killed include 15-year-old Vesteroy Sinclair, a student who was shot dead in his community of Turner Top in Manchester on Saturday night, during the commission of a robbery of his mother’s shop sometime after 9:00 pm.

Another murder was that of Lauren ‘DJ Lasco’ Fortella, who was ambushed at his home in Freeman’s Hall, Trelawny.

Fortella’s female companion was also shot and injured during the attack. Reports are that about 10:30 pm Saturday, Fortella and a female companion were ambushed and shot by an unknown assailant as they arrived home. They were both taken to hospital, where Fortella was pronounced dead and the female was admitted for treatment.

On Sunday, there was a dramatic fall off in the number of people killed. The police confirmed that two people were killed, one of whom is 21-year-old Orthaniel Thomas, who tried to stop two men from robbing a woman, and was gunned down by the armed assailants.

Thomas and the woman, who the police say is his girlfriend, were among a group of people walking along Tom Redcam Avenue in St Andrew about 3:50 am on Sunday. They had earlier attended dancehall artiste Alkaline’s New Rules Festival at the National Stadium.