Dwayne Mcleod/Sanjae Sterling, Staff Reporters

Unscrupulous individuals in and around several Cor-porate Area communities are using the passage of Hurricane Dean as an opportunity to carry out their criminal activities.

The winds and rain that accompanied the category four storm has since left several communities without electricity, creating the perfect opportunity for these criminals to patrol the streets, robbing and shooting at innocent passers-by.

In the Mountain View area of Eastern Kingston, gunmen from Jarrett Lane, Jacques Road and areas known as 'Burgha' and McGregor Gully have yet again turned the streets into war zones, even in pitch darkness.

THE STAR heard that men from Jarrett Lane, Burgha and McGregor Gully have formed an alliance against men from Jacques Road. Intent on warfare, total darkness is seemingly not enough to hinder them from firing their guns.

Several men from these communities claim that they are vulnerable to attacks and, as such, they have to be "ready and waiting".

"Storm jus' gone an di place dark, suh yu find seh man a go waa try come inna di place tru dem feel seh wi probly nuh si dem a sneak up, so wi haffi strap up and bleach pon dem a nite time ... mek dem come, a gunshot ago beat," a thug from Jacques Road told THE STAR.

On Sunday night, as the hurricane churned across the island, men from the warring communities disregarded all hazards and waged an extended gun battle in the night.

"Mi really nuh know how dem do it, all inna di storm di man dem a beat shot, inna di darkness, how dem si fi shoot?" one resident of Jarrett Lane questioned.

As a result, gunmen govern the streets at night while other scared residents make it their point of duty to stay indoors.

"Wi nuh have nuh light suh di night dem well dark ... a dem run di road when night come suh we affi mek sure wi nuh inna dem way cause anything weh dem si move inna di dark dem ago shoot it," one male resident of Jacques Road explained.

When asked about the shooting at and robbing of innocent passers-by, a thug from 'Burgha' simply replied: "Man hungry an wi naw tek nuh check."

Deputy Superintendent of Police Michael Ellis, in charge of crime for the Kingston Eastern Division, could not be contacted, however, other security personnel attached to the division told THE STAR that they were aware of the reports.

"Yes, we are familiar with such reports ... as a matter of fact apart from shooting at each other, there have also been instances when these criminals rob or shoot at people and vehicles unknown to them," an officer told THE STAR.

In Eastern St. Andrew, residents of Kintyre told THE STAR that they have had nothing but sleepless nights since the power outage, as criminals have overtaken their community. What makes the situation in this community even worse is that the police are unable to do their job effectively, as a portion of the Kintyre bridge was washed away during the hurricane's passage.

The flare-up in violence, residents say, is due to an ongoing battle between men from Hope Flat and Ackee Walk. One resident expressed how tired she was of the constant shooting.