The country is waking up to the shocking news that gunmen shot and killed eight persons in the volatile community of Tredegar Park in St. Catherine on Friday morning.
A woman and her children and a grandfather, his son and grandson are numbered among the dead while another resident is missing.
A house, containing church equipment, was also torched by the marauding gunmen.
Mayhem and pandemonium broke out shortly after midnight when heavily armed men entered an area of the community known as Monkey Town.
Families snuffed out
Preliminary reports are that the gunmen went to one house where they shot and killed a woman, her 24 year old daughter, her 16 year old son and another daughter, only 11 years old.
The gunmen then went to another house where another round of fury was unleashed.
This time they wiped out three generations: a grand-father, his son and grandson.
The dead have been identified as Hopelyn Dennis, 43, her daughters Neksisia Anderson, 24 and Angel Anderson,11 as well as her 16-year-old son Joey Anderson.
Also killed are 64-year-old Eldon Heron Senior, his 28-year-old son Eldon Heron Junior and the elder Mr. Heron's 22-year-old grandson Gary Stewart.
Their visitor, Orrett Miller, 26, was also shot dead.
An attack on another family was thwarted when a woman and her daughter managed to escape.
It is unclear if other persons have been injured.
A resident told our news centre during the attacks she tried unsuccessfully to contact the Spanish Town Police Station.
“We heard a lot of gun shots and tried to get the police but the numbers rang without answer, we tried 119,” said Tredegar Park resident.
However the police later engaged the men in a shoot out in an area of the community known as Brooklyn.
One gunman was shot and injured, however the extent of his injuries is not yet known.
Friday morning's violent upheaval is the latest in a series of deadly attacks in Tredegar Park in recent months.
Suspects
And the Police are appealing to the public for support by providing information on the following persons of interest in relation to this morning's multiple killings in Tredegar.
Four are known only by their aliases, Ears Man, Deo, Fire Tail, Zeeks.
The fifth person of interest is Isley Williams.
Persons with information can contact Police Control Centre at 119, Operation Kingfish at 811 and Crime Stop at 311.
In the aftermath of the shooting two of the alleged gunmen were shot and killed in a reported shoot out with the police.
The two have been identified as Kevin otherwise called Bilbo and Jerome Williams otherwise called Crab.
The police say both are known members of the Clansman Gang which operates in Spanish Town.
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