And in the aftermath of the murder, the Commissioner of Police was on Rivero Street today speaking with the residents and hearing their concerns. That area, including Faber's Road, has been quiet for some time, up until a month ago, when 18-year-old Trevor Thompson was murdered.
Following that, a house on Rivero Street was destroyed by fire, and the family believed it was arson.
And now this weekend, a teenager was shot dead and a father injured. The ComPol said all three incidents are related, and explained that it's the youths who have been acting up, while the older gang members have been trying to keep the peace. He also told us what the police plan to do in the area.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"Again, yes this is another fata; shooting. We had one just a few months ago in the same general area and so the area is becoming of concern to us and so we are here speaking to the people to get some feedback and as well as to tell them what are some of the plans we have in place to be able to address their security concerns. We want the people to know that their concerns is not going unnoticed. And that as a department, working in tandem with LIU, we will do what needs to be done to address the issue."
"I've said to the GI3 that we need to go hard on those persons who continue to make our job more difficult. While yes the LIU is there and many may sit and say even with LIU, crime is being committed. We don't expect that through the effort of the police department and LIU, we will stop crime; we do not expect that. We'd be naive to think so. But at the same time, it is important to note that with the work that we are doing, it should reduce crime and it is reducing crime. And so for those who may use this to say that LIU is not working, we can still look at the record to see that crime, particular murders or violent crimes are on a downward trend and we are going to make sure that trend continues."
"We had put in place a number of mechanisms in this area to make sure that crime is kept under control. But recently the area has come back on the radar. We were more focusing on other areas, but we have not forgotten or neglect the area, because we do have a presence at the corner of Kraal Road and Rivero Street. But again, you would know that the criminals tend of work around the police and so what we will do now, I had spoken to the security company and we're going to install more surveillance cameras in the area."
"Also, we have to look at making sure the police officers who are working within the area do not just stay under a booth, but that they come out and patrol - move around the area and do more stop and search."
A gang mediation session - facilitated by the LIU - was held this afternoon as well.
