Wild, wild west in Barrouallie

A two-week spate of shootings in the west coast town of Barrouallie has left one young man dead, two hospitalized with grievous injuries and the community traumatized.

The first incident occurred on April 1st at Pierre Hughes in the area of the Barrouallie Secondary School.{{more}} Twenty-three-year-old Cethon Griffith was shot in both arms, while 21-year-old Cuthbert Edwards was shot in his left leg. Griffith is a patient at the Male Surgical Ward of the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (MCMH). Because of his injuries, his leg had to be amputated above the knee on Saturday.

Robert Mc Donald, a 35-year-old labourer of Keartons was found at his home on Monday covered with blood with a gunshot wound to the right side of his back. According to the police, he was pronounced dead on the spot by the Medical Examiner.

Residents say that at about midnight the night before, gunshots had been heard in the area. A post mortem was to have been carried out on the body.

While Police were at the Keartons murder scene on Monday, a call came to say that there had been another shooting at Pierre Hughes. This time, 21-year-old Joel Hannaway had been shot in his upper left arm. He was taken to the MCMH by the police transport.

At press time, Hannaway was in the Intensive Care Unit, and SEARCHLIGHT understands that his arm may have to be amputated due to excessive nerve damage. Hannaway is a graduate of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Community College.

Gunshots again rang out at Pierre Hughes at around 10:30pm on Tuesday. When the smoke cleared, Waggy Gordon had been shot in his back.

Barrouallie residents are saying that the shootings are gang related and that it is not over yet. Police are investigating the shootings but no arrests have been made so far.