Hollywood residents worried about recent upsurge in gunfire

Residents in the Redemption Sharpes community of Hollywood are claiming that gunplay in the area last weekend was as a result of a police manhunt; but police officials have stated there is no record of such an incident.{{more}}

On Monday, January 10, when SEARCHLIGHT visited Hollywood, residents recalled that on Saturday, shortly after 5 p.m., they were startled when they heard between five and six gunshots ring out.

A female resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said that she heard five shots and out of curiosity, when she thought it was safe, she came out of her house to find out what had transpired.

“When I come out, I saw the police. Actually, it was four of them; a lady was in the midst and two of them had guns.

“It look to me like it was CID (Criminal Investigations Department) officers because they were in plain clothes with gloves,” said the woman.

The resident reported that the officers were accompanied by a transport driver who waited in the vehicle.

According to the woman, she was informed by other residents that the police went looking for an individual who was recently released from prison.

She said that the wanted man apparently tried to evade the lawmen who fired the shots.

The woman said she was told by colleagues that the man escaped unhurt.

“I know most of the time they (the police) fire three shots for warning, but it’s actually five shots I heard.”

The worried woman indicated that the community is usually a quiet place, and had remained so for some time now.

“Nothing really goes on around here these days. It was quiet since they tek out ‘Skinnan’ some time ago,” she reasoned.

She was referring to the February 12, 2010, execution style murder of 25-year-old Kimron ‘Skinnan’ McDowall, not too far away from where she was standing.

Further up the street in the once volatile Trigger Ridge community, some residents claimed that they had heard the gunshots and expressed concerns about their source.

Another female resident related that she too was becoming concerned for her community.

“It was okay for a while after they pick up them guys who was doing the murders, but it seems like they start up again. I just feel like is not too far before it come back to a state of siege,” she lamented.

She indicated that as recently as New Year’s Day, there was a series of hold ups, burglaries and robberies in the area, by unknown gunmen.

The Redemption Sharpes area has over the years recorded a number of murders, most of them gun-related, but after some ground work by the police, a sense of calm had prevailed prior to the recent events.

In a strange twist, a call by SEARCHLIGHT to the Public Relations Department of the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force revealed that there is no record of police activity in the area on that day.

A spokesperson from the department indicated that the morning report of Sunday, January 9, does not indicate that officers were in the area and fired their weapons or were fired upon.