Vendor gunned down near Old Harbour High School

 

The fatal shooting of a popular vendor near Old Harbour High School in St. Catherine on Thursday morning caused a delay in the sitting of Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) exams by students at the institution. 

 

Marlon Bloomfield, who had been selling near the school for several years, was attacked and fatally shot by unknown assailants shortly after 6 a.m. 

 

Principal of Old Harbour High, Linton Weir, told Radio Jamaica News that there was a delay in getting some students sitting Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) exams to enter the school as the area was cordoned off by the police. 

 

"So the incident, my understanding, would have taken place about 10 minutes to 6 o'clock.... At the time of the incident itself, many students were on route to school... so I don't think many students would have seen what happened at the time because of how early it was," said Mr. Weir. 

 

The principal noted that all students were able to sit their exam, which was pushed back to 7:30 a.m. 

 

He said officials in Region 6 of the Ministry of Education were informed of the situation, adding that counselling sessions will be held for students who knew Mr. Bloomfield. 

 

Meanwhile, Dr. Kurt Waul, Councillor for the Old Harbour South Division, has called for a thorough investigation into the shooting based on what he said are worrying allegations regarding a possible motive. 

 

"I condemn this killing wholeheartedly. You know, for some time now we have been having some peace and quiet in the Old Harbour space. The police have been doing a great job cracking down on gang-related activities and they have been keeping a tab on the violence producers, so this killing has certainly blindsided us and one has to wonder if there was some ulterior motive to this killing other than, you know, the gang-related violence that usually occurs in the Old Harbour space."

 

He called for calm as the police conduct their investigations into the killing.