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Grand cover-up
• Death toll from Denham Town shooting climbs to five
A picture of what appears to be a grand cover-up by the security forces has begun emerging from the recent Denham Town shooting, as the death toll has climbed to five, up from the initial three which were reported, with no official word from the police.
Based on a Sunday Herald probe, Carol Madden, mother of one of the alleged gunmen who died, remains hospitalized after being shot in the October 29 incident. Indications are that she might be crippled. But with all the subsequent developments, the police have remained silent since its official report on the matter, that three alleged gunmen were killed in a gunfight in Denham Town.
Initial reports coming from law officials were that Damion Taylor, a 27-year-old man, otherwise called ‘Sharp Shooter’; alongside 23-year-old Dwight Picton, o/c ‘Max’; and Jeremy Maxwell, o/c ‘Birdie’, were killed during a gun battle.
However, follow-up investigations by the Sunday Herald are showing that 21-year-old Omar Desavado, o/c ‘Skinny Man’, and Fabian Cane, o/c ‘Beedo’, both died in hospital two days later, from injuries they received in the same October 29 shooting incident.
The human rights group, Families Against State Terrorism (FAST), which is doing its own investigation in the matter, confirmed that 22-year-old Ricardo Brown, who was also shot and injured in the incident, has since been released into police custody. According to police, he has been charged with five counts of shooting with intent, as well as illegal possession of firearm and ammunition.
The human rights group also reported that another man, Joseph Bernard, is still in hospital under police guard, while Madden too, who was shot in the region of her spinal cord, remained handcuffed to her hospital bed under police guard.
Police, in their report, said a joint police/military team was on operation in the dust-bitten West Kingston community, when about 10 men were seen in the Little Water Street area of Denham Town.
The police reported that an exchange of gunfire ensued and five men were found suffering from gunshot wounds. They were taken to hospital, where three were pronounced dead and two admitted for injuries. The other men escaped, the initial reports from police said.
But with five men now dead and another under guard in hospital, plus Madden also under medical treatment, it is emerging that at least seven persons were actually shot and seriously wounded in the incident, not five as the police reported.
Residents of Denham Town charged that the house where the shooting occurred brought back memories of the Braeton Seven, when police killed seven youngsters in Portmore, St. Catherine. The Sunday Herald was told that 11 persons were in the two-room house located off Regent Street when the police/military team arrived and the firing was started.
“The police are covering up the incident and we believe the police were working off instructions,” one irate resident told the Sunday Herald news team, which visited the area on Thursday.
The Sunday Herald team counted more than 60 bullet holes in the walls and windows of the house. There were indications that shots were fired from the front and rear of the house and sections of the inside wall were still splattered with blood.
• Death toll from Denham Town shooting climbs to five
A picture of what appears to be a grand cover-up by the security forces has begun emerging from the recent Denham Town shooting, as the death toll has climbed to five, up from the initial three which were reported, with no official word from the police.
Based on a Sunday Herald probe, Carol Madden, mother of one of the alleged gunmen who died, remains hospitalized after being shot in the October 29 incident. Indications are that she might be crippled. But with all the subsequent developments, the police have remained silent since its official report on the matter, that three alleged gunmen were killed in a gunfight in Denham Town.
Initial reports coming from law officials were that Damion Taylor, a 27-year-old man, otherwise called ‘Sharp Shooter’; alongside 23-year-old Dwight Picton, o/c ‘Max’; and Jeremy Maxwell, o/c ‘Birdie’, were killed during a gun battle.
However, follow-up investigations by the Sunday Herald are showing that 21-year-old Omar Desavado, o/c ‘Skinny Man’, and Fabian Cane, o/c ‘Beedo’, both died in hospital two days later, from injuries they received in the same October 29 shooting incident.
The human rights group, Families Against State Terrorism (FAST), which is doing its own investigation in the matter, confirmed that 22-year-old Ricardo Brown, who was also shot and injured in the incident, has since been released into police custody. According to police, he has been charged with five counts of shooting with intent, as well as illegal possession of firearm and ammunition.
The human rights group also reported that another man, Joseph Bernard, is still in hospital under police guard, while Madden too, who was shot in the region of her spinal cord, remained handcuffed to her hospital bed under police guard.
Police, in their report, said a joint police/military team was on operation in the dust-bitten West Kingston community, when about 10 men were seen in the Little Water Street area of Denham Town.
The police reported that an exchange of gunfire ensued and five men were found suffering from gunshot wounds. They were taken to hospital, where three were pronounced dead and two admitted for injuries. The other men escaped, the initial reports from police said.
But with five men now dead and another under guard in hospital, plus Madden also under medical treatment, it is emerging that at least seven persons were actually shot and seriously wounded in the incident, not five as the police reported.
Residents of Denham Town charged that the house where the shooting occurred brought back memories of the Braeton Seven, when police killed seven youngsters in Portmore, St. Catherine. The Sunday Herald was told that 11 persons were in the two-room house located off Regent Street when the police/military team arrived and the firing was started.
“The police are covering up the incident and we believe the police were working off instructions,” one irate resident told the Sunday Herald news team, which visited the area on Thursday.
The Sunday Herald team counted more than 60 bullet holes in the walls and windows of the house. There were indications that shots were fired from the front and rear of the house and sections of the inside wall were still splattered with blood.
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