Man dies after being hit in the head with stone in Junction
ST ELIZABETH, Jamaica — A man succumbed to injuries after being hit in the head with a stone allegedly by a man believed to be of unsound mind in Junction, St Elizabeth on Tuesday.
Police named the deceased as Rupert Cunningham, 62, a resident of Watson Hill near Downs close to the Manchester/ St Elizabeth border.
A police report said about 4:50 pm, Cunningham was attacked by the other man who used a stone to inflict wounds to his head. A large crowd converged at the scene in the Junction town centre following the incident.
Cunningham was pronounced dead at hospital.
This latest incident is the fourth murder over the past four days in St Elizabeth.
On Tuesday morning Dermar Green, 30, otherwise called ‘Patra’, a welder and resident of Speculation district was gunned down on the Cambridge main road. Police said about 5:00 am residents reported hearing loud explosions. Green’s body was then found with gunshot wounds.
On Sunday night Rohan Esson, 37, a businessman and resident of New Holland was shot dead in his community. A police report said about 10:00 pm, Esson left home to attend a party in the area. The police said about 5:30 am passersby stumbled on his body on a dirt road with what appeared to be gunshot wounds to his upper body.
On Friday night Kerm Jones, 25, a chef and resident of Brigade Street in Black River was gunned down. A police report said about 11:45 pm, Jones was walking on Brigade Street when he was pounced upon by men traveling in a Toyota Axio motor car. The occupants alighted from the vehicle and a man proceeded to open gunfire at Jones, who ran off. Jones was chased by the man who shot him. The man then escaped in the waiting motor vehicle. Citizens assisted Jones to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The series of incidents follow last week’s jail-break at the Black River Police Station lock-up where eight high-risk inmates escaped. In response, the police High Command transferred the parish’s then police chief Superintendent Kenneth Chin to Area 5 headquarters. Deputy Superintendent Coleridge Minto assumed duties as the commander for St Elizabeth.
