Father loses second teenage son to gunmen

Mark Powell Sr, the father of an 18-year-old male who was shot and killed by gunmen in Green Pond, St James, on Monday night, said this is the second teenage son he has lost at the hands of gunmen since 2014.

His youngest child, Mark Jr, of Princess Street in Montego Bay, was found dead on Tuesday morning. Powell said that his eldest son, Romario, was also murdered in St James in 2014.

"From then mi decide seh mi nah mek Mark come outta mi sight, and everyday him seh him don't want end up like him brother," Powell told THE STAR.

Sadly, Mark Jr was also killed by gunmen.

Reports are that Green Pond residents heard gunshots being fired in the area on Monday night.

BODY FOUND

About 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, residents went to investigate, and stumbled upon the teen's bullet-riddled body, which was lying along a dirt road in the community.

The police were summoned, and upon arrival, it was discovered that Mark had been shot multiple times all over his body.

Powell was in complete shock when he found out that his son was found dead because he thought the teen was at home.

"When mi come home back, mi can't find him. All mi call him phone, mi nah get no answer. Mi fret whole night until mi get a call this morning seh dem find him dead a Green Pond," he told THE STAR, describing his son as a good boy.

Powell said that he doesn't know how or why his son was killed.

Silvan Reid, the councillor for the division, visited the murder scene in Green Pond, and told THE STAR that the incident was unfortunate. In the same breath, he questioned the effectiveness of the state of emergency, while stressing that the police need to find a solution to the crime problem.

"Sixty-three persons have been murdered in St James since the start of the year, and this is way too much murders for a small parish that had been placed under a state of public emergency for almost the entire year. "